Foraging Wild Reishi Mushhrooms ( Ganoderma tsugae)
Deep in the forest, there is a potent medicinal mushroom grows on trees and stumps. It is known as Reishi Mushroom and there a few Reishi species in Eastern North America including Golden Reishi (Ganoderma curtsii), Ling Chih (Ganoderma sessile) and Hemlock Reishi (Ganoderma tsugae). I'm going to focus on Hemlock Reishi (Ganoderma tsugae) because it is the most common east of the Rocky Mountains.
Where to find Reishi Mushrooms? Go to Hemlock Groves
The most common variety of Reishi Mushroom on the east coast is Hemlock Reishi ( Ganderma tsugae ), the key to finding this variety is locating hemlock trees.
Hemlock trees are a shady evergreen tree that is similar to pine. It has light brown bark shown below. However, it has individually attached needles opposed to pine needles which are bunches of needles.
Hemlock needles are easily identified by the underside with our two white racing stripes. Once, you have correctly identified Hemlock Trees, you can start scouting for Hemlock Reishi.
Stages of Reishi Mushroom Development
In the Spring, Reishi starts out as a white node forming on the sides of hemlock trees and logs. From there it will form short antlers and fan out into a kidney shape as the seasons progress. The polypore will be red towards the center with outer rings of orange, yellow and white.
When Reishi is at an adolescent stage, you can take a knife and harvest the outer white ring. This tender stage of Reishi is the only time it can be cooked and eaten. The white new growth can also be dried and used for teas and tinctures.
Mature Reishi Mushrooms
Mature Reishi can be quite large and have a solid maroon color. They often times have a coat of brownish spores on the top of the mushroom and can washed off with water to reveal their shiny exterior. The underside of healthy reishi will have white, barely visible pores. The underside of Reishi is a great indicator of how healthy the mushroom is. As reishi starts to rot, the underside with discolor and sometimes have a lot holes from beetles and other insects.
Dehydrating Reishi Mushrooms
When I find a lot of Reishi, I try to dehydrate it within one to two days or else it might get moldy. I chop Reishi into thin slices, but I put it on my dehydrator at 135 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. You can also dry them out in the sun as well and that adds extra vitamin d to them. Once you've brought Reishi home and dehydrated it you can use it for tea or tinctures. Now to make a potent reishi tea you want to brew it from one to two hours, then strain it with a cheesecloth. To make a tincture with reishi, you want to use a ratio of 1:5 or 1:2 mushroom to alcohol. You want to let that soak in a mason jar for a month and a half or longer, then strain.
Health Benefits of Reishi
In ancient china, these mushrooms were revered as an herb of immortality and used exclusively by emperors and royalty. Reishi has polysaccharide compounds called beta glucans which help regulate immune function. So if the body's immune system is under active, the beta glucans can raise the immune function of the body and help ramp it up. If the immune system is under active in the case of an autoimmune disorderm the beta glucans can bring it down back into balance. Reishi also has these compounds called triterpenes which help relieve allergies with their antihistamine effect. Reishi also protects against air pollutants like car exhaust. Reishi extracts have been shown to block car exhaust molecules from entering into our cells. I find that these mushrooms also help calm my nervous system and help me feel at peace. You can find my wild dual extract of Reishi here.
