Tips for Hunting Reishi Mushrooms

The Reishi is one of the most medicinal things you can possibly forage in the forest, and has been known as the “herb of spiritual potency” to the Chinese for centuries.

There are two basic types you’ll find in the eastern United States. The Ling Chih (ganoderma lucidum) prefers the warmer climate and is especially keen on the forests of the southeast. It grows on deciduous trees (oaks, elms, beeches, maples), and I have found on several occasions that it grows around the bases of dead, standing southern red oaks in the oak-hickory forests of the piedmont region. If you find one on a red oak snag I would go carefully dig around the bases of other red oak snags in the area and you might find some more. They grow very slowly, so if they are small remember what tree they were on a give it between a few weeks to a few months.

There is also the Hemlock Varnish Shelf (g. tsugae), which can be found in colder and more northerly regions. As its name implies it is found on dead coniferous wood like hemlocks and spruces.

They are great for all kinds of medicinal reasons, including anti-bacterial/candida/inflammatory/oxidant/viral, blood pressure, cardiovascular, general immune support, kidney and liver tonic, etc…

If you find some Reishi, break them up and put them in boiling water. Put a lid on the pot and let the pieces soak over night to make an infusion of the “mushroom of immortality.”

Consult some field guides or mushroom websites for images and further descriptions. They are pretty distinct and there are no poisonous look-a-likes.

Book to check out:
Reishi Mushroom
By Terry Willard, Ph. D.