Polypore fruiting body/fungi are medicinal mushrooms used for centuries as a tonic to detoxify, cleanse and strengthen all systems. Polypore fruiting body/fungi are adaptogens that have a high level of antioxidants that nourish, protect, restore and balance the body.
This group of mushrooms grow on rotting logs and stumps. They are called bracket fungi because look like shelves or brackets. They are usually found on rotting birch trees but are also found on other trees. Mushrooms that grow on birch are desirable because they have some of the properties of birch.
Artist’s conk is the only fungi/fruiting body identifiable by the ability to etch designs and words on it, and it grows on hardwood trees like maples.
Remove Mushrooms with a hatchet, axe or knife and chop them up with a hammer or axe in a cardboard box. You can dry them out for a couple of days in a warm place. Use polypore mushrooms medicinally in a tea or tincture and they are typically not used culinary.
This is a good documentary about knowing your mushrooms.
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/know-your-mushrooms/
There is new research into how mushrooms can clean up the planet by eating up oil spills and breaking down plastics.
There are culinary, medicinal and poisonous varieties of mushrooms so correct identification is important. Caution when picking mushrooms because misidentification can lead to fatalities. Get fungi from a reputable source or take a guide with you into nature and some field guide books to wild-craft but caution is advised!
Mushroom websites
http://mushroom-collecting.com/mushroomartist.html
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/
http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/
VARNISH POLYPORE FRUITING BODY/
BRACKET FUNGI
| Common Name | Varnish Polypore Fruiting Body/ aka Bracket Fungi |
| Latin Name | Ganoderma spp. L.
Includes: Lacquered Polypore- G. lucidum aka Reishi Hemlock varnish shelf- G. tsugae Artist’s Conk- Ganoderma applanatum |
| Family | Polypore family Ganodermataceae L. |
| Parts Used | Fruiting body/Mushroom/Fungi |
| Target Organs | Immune, Nervous, Endocrine, Pancreas, Spleen, Digestive, Urinary, Heart |
| Common Uses | Strengthens and cleanses all systems.Tonic to: Immune, Nervous, Endocrine, Heart, Pancreas, Spleen, Digestive, Urinary Systems
Lowers cholesterol, normalizes blood pressure, supportive treatment for Cancer, diabetes, infections, allergies, |
| Properties | Adaptogen, adrenal tonic, analgesic, antiallergenic, antiatherogenic, antibacterial, anticarcinogenic, anticardiotoxic, anticatarrhal, antidepressant, antihepatotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antimutagencic, antineoplastic, antinephrotoxic, antineurotoxic, antioxidant, antiradiotoxic, antithrombotic, antiulcerogenic, antiviral, anxiolytic, aperient, appetite stimulant, astringent, bitter, blood pressure normalizer, cardiac, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, decongestant, emmenagogue tonic, expectorant secretolytic, hypocholesterolemic, hypolipidemic, immune stimulant, immune tonic, nervine, pancreatic, relaxant, spleenic, tranquilizer, vasodilator, vulnerary |
| Constituents | Polysaccharides, polyphenols, phytosterols.Betulinic acid, betulin are in mushrooms only found on birch trees and are fat soluble and only available in tincture form. |
| Cautions | Polypore bracket fungi are edible but correct identification is important to avoid poisoning, illness and possible death. |
