Polyporus

Polyporus

Other names:

  • Czech - choroš oříš
  • Chinese - zhu ling
  • Latin - Polyporus umbellatus

Brief description

Polyporus(Polyporus umbellatus, Grifola umbellatus, Zhu Ling, Chorosis nut) is a wood-boring fungus that can be found on the bases of healthy deciduous trees, but also on injured or dead trees and stumps. It most commonly attacks oak, hornbeam and beech trees. The Polypore fruiting body grows from the cane, which branches off from the tree and branches into other "little fungus legs". These then have small, regular caps that are squeezed inwards, forming a sort of cluster. This can make the whole fruiting body more than 50 cm in diameter. Polyporus grows in temperate regions, i.e. North America, Europe and Asia. It can also be found in our country, especially in the Polabí region, southern Bohemia, Moravia, etc. The demand for the mushroom is high, so it is also grown commercially. Polyporus was scientifically documented in 1801, when Ch. H. Persoon named it Bolletus umbellatus. It was not until 1821 that Polyporus was placed in the genus Polyporus by the Swedish mycologist E. M. Fries. However, Polyporus was known long before that. Especially in Asia, where it has been mentioned as early as 2500 years ago. At that time it was also used in medicine, which is also described in writings dating back to the Han Dynasty and in "herbaria" (ShenNongBenCaoJing, ZhongHuaBenCao, BenCao Gang Mu).

Please be advised that our website can no longer make claims that might give the impression of any medicinal effect of herbs or mushrooms. Current EU legislation prohibits this. Even though traditional Chinese medicine has been around for thousands of years and has been tested on countless patients. At the same time, we must not mention the effects proven by contemporary scientific studies. But we believe in the common sense of our customers. For detailed information about herbs and mushrooms, please search the publicly available sources on the Internet. For example, valuable information can be found at www.tcmencyklopedie.cz.
Sources of information on vital mushrooms:
Martin Powell - Medicinal Mushrooms A Clinical Guide
Pavel Valíček - Mushrooms and their medicinal effects
G.M. Halpren, A.H. Miller - Medicinal Mushrooms Ancient Remedies dor Modern Ailments
G.M. Halpren - Healing Mushrooms
Christopher Hobbs - Medicinal Mushrooms An Ecploration of Tradition, Healing and Culture
Robert Rogers - The Fungal Pharmacy
Vladimir Ando - Pharmacology of Classical Chinese Medicine
Radomir Soch, Alexandr Jegorov - Encyclopedia of Medicinal Fungi
Bensky - Materia Medica