The first time I saw it, about 8 weeks ago, my heart jumped!! Wow!!
I wasn't sure, since the colour was different to others I have seen, and so I asked my Thai ex-husband. "Lingzhi", he said, matter of factly. The Traditional Chinese Medicine name still used here in Thailand for the Reishi mushroom.
Not really trusting his judgement (14 years of being divorced and unsupported will do that 😆) I asked in our local Zuckerland group, Nature in Chiang Mai. And got MOSTLY the same response, and one super helpful one, which identified it as Ganoderma Resinaceum - a highly prized Chinese medicinal mushroom which grows almost exclusively on the rotting tree stumps of mango and tamarind. ***Sidebar: DON'T pull out old tree stumps - apart from disturbing the incredible microbial ecosystem below the ground, you deprive yourself of so many amazing fungi, mosses and orchids!
This is how it looked when I first discovered it in late May - the beginning of the monsoonal rainy season here in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand:
Since then, I've been learning a lot about Genus Ganoderma and the various species.
Mostly it's a good thing to use the dried spore powder as natural medicine. The powerful triterpenoids make it BITTER (like most great natural medicine) which makes drying, powdering and encapsulation a really good option.
Ganoderma resinaceum Boud. (Polyporeseae) has long been used for antioxidant, immunoregulation and liver protection. Source
Lingzhi (Ganoderma) is a woody mushroom highly regarded in traditional medicine and is widely consumed in the belief that it promotes health and longevity, lowers the risk of cancer and heart disease and boosts the immune system. Source
There are two main components that are attributed to the health benefits of taking Ganoderma. Polysaccharides, which are water-soluble, have been found to regulate blood pressure, enhance immunity, and slow tumor growth. The second ingredient is called triterpenes, and is what gives the mushroom its bitter flavor. It's been proven that these alleviate allergies, decrease inflammation, and aid in digestion. Source
There ARE some serious cautions to using Lingzhi as a natural medicine:
- not for prolonged use, as it may overload the kidneys and the liver;
- it does act as a blood thinner and may promote bleeding. NOT to be used in conjunction with blood thinning medications.
- it is NOT recommended for use in pregnancy - it does inhibit tumors and its specific effect on HgH in terms of causing birth defects is yet not well studied;
- caution and medical advice need to be sought if using in conjunction with chemotherapy or immunosuppressants (HIV or after organ transplant).
Despite local Thai cautions to me that it's not edible (from uneducated people who probably thought I'd be frying it up for eating over noodles) clinical studies actually show it IS safe:
The results showed no evidence of liver, renal or DNA toxicity with Lingzhi intake, and this is reassuring. Source
As always, it comes down to dosage and frequency/duration of ingestion: hyper-stimulation of the kidneys and liver through an induced hyper-detox state can be harmful, even if the agent itself in micro-doses is shown to be safe.
So how are my babies doing today, mid-August, as the rains continue to tumble down and the monsoonal rains intensify?
The big one measures 18cm across and is changing colour as she ripens. The smaller one gets less light and is more sheltered, but is catching up.
Specifically today I'm looking for advice on harvesting (how and when) and the best drying techniques people have used for BIG mushrooms like this.
Appreciating the natural medicine growing under my office window and excited to be boosting my natural medicine box with some potent capsules. Big Pharma look out - I'm treating myself to a capsule making set up in the coming weeks! 🤣
BlissednBlessed
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