Reishi mushroom is a unique saprophyte that feeds on the juices of wood. In fact, it is a destroyer that parasitizes plants. This mushroom, having a wide spectrum of action and the absence of side effects, has been used in eastern medicine for more than two thousand years.
Description and value of the fungus
Reishi mushroom is rarely found in nature, so once it was of great value. This saprophyte is considered an annual. But it happens that he lives 2 or 3 years.
Botanical Description:
- Mushroom body. Reishi consists of legs and hats.
- The hat. The color is variable, the mushroom can take on different shades - from reddish to violet. The shape of a hat is like a human kidney. The maximum diameter is 25 cm. The surface is wavy. The mushroom is smooth and shiny. On the hat you can see many growth rings.
- Leg. Its length can reach 30 cm, diameter - 3 cm.
- Pulp. In young individuals, it resembles a white sponge. Over time, it becomes denser, stiffens, taking on a brownish tint.
Reishi mushroom has no smell or taste. There is only a bitter taste.
The fungus is valued for its medicinal properties - it strengthens the body, has antibacterial, antiviral and antitumor effects, removes toxins and protects against radiation.
What else is called Reishi mushroom?
Reishi is a name given to a unique mushroom by the Japanese. Translated into Russian, it means "mushroom of spiritual strength." The fungus Ganoderma lucidum belongs to the genus Ganoderma, family Polyporaceae. It is also called:
- Mannentake - translated from Japanese as "ten thousand year old mushroom."
- Lingzhi - translated from Chinese as "mushroom of immortality."
- Ganoderma brilliant.
- Tinder fungus.
The mushroom is especially appreciated in Japan and China - here it is considered a source of eternal youth.
Edible or not?
The varnished polypore has a pronounced bitter taste, therefore, refers to inedible mushrooms. It is used only for medicinal purposes. The mushroom is taken in the form of:
- tinctures;
- teas;
- bioadditives;
- pills
- extracts;
- powders.
The miraculous properties of the fungus are due to its unique composition, it contains:
- polysaccharides - they strengthen the immune system;
- amino acids - they remove toxins from the body;
- organic and polyunsaturated fatty acids - they prevent the formation of tumors.
And also the varnished tinder fungus contains coumarins, saponins, triterpenoids, volatile, flavonoids, alkaloids, vitamins B, C, D, micro and macro elements (copper, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, sodium, manganese, magnesium, sodium, calcium).
Where and when does it grow?
Once lingzhi grew only in the East, but now it has spread all over the world - it is grown on farms for therapeutic purposes. But the main suppliers of varnished tinder fungus, as before, are Japan, China and Vietnam.
In Russia, lingzhi can be found in the subtropics - in the Krasnodar Territory and the Caucasus. A favorable climate allows saprophyte to mature fully during the summer - in no hurry, in natural conditions.
In moderate latitudes of the Russian Federation, the fungus is extremely rare. But recently, it has been spreading in Altai - in places of clear-cutting. The mushroom chooses the weakened, dying and dead trees as a victim. It prefers to grow on hardwood, rarely found on conifers. Lingzhi is located at the base of the tree, it happens, it grows on roots deepened in the ground.
Varieties
There are many varieties of tinder funders. They all differ from each other:
- appearance;
- chemical composition;
- healing properties.
The healing properties of Reishi fungus depend on the place of growth. You can distinguish it from a tinder fungus by a long stalk - other parasites growing on trees do not have it.
Who can be confused with?
Reishi is sometimes confused with agaric. This mushroom is also called white larch sponge. This fungus is used for tumors. Its flesh is a spilled sponge, hence the name. What is the difference between agaric and varnished tinder fungus:
- it does not have a shiny and smooth surface, but is rough and rough;
- the mushroom is white and covered with brown spots.
- grows mainly on larches, as well as on firs, cedars, less often - on birches.
Agarik grows up to 10 kg in weight, up to 30 cm long.
Features of the collection
Lingzhi, grown in vivo, is much healthier than artificially grown counterparts. If you are lucky, you can find a varnished tinder fungus in nature - in the subtropical zone of our country. It grows on deciduous trees. The most useful is considered to be a mushroom grown on oak wood.
The chances of finding a lot of shiny ganoderms are extremely small - for every 100,000 trees, one mushroom comes across.
It is difficult to meet a brilliant ganoderma in nature - its spores germinate on certain trees and under certain conditions. To get a valuable mushroom for use, it has to be cultivated artificially. Reishi was first grown in Japan in 1972. The collection and harvesting of the mushroom, which began in July, continues until the first frost.
Is it possible to grow this mushroom myself?
If it weren’t for artificial cultivation, the lingzhi mushroom would be full of gold. Fortunately, it can be grown with wood sticks infected with mycelium. Seeds are purchased in specialized stores. One sowing provides a harvest for 4-5 years. There are two ways to grow medicinal mushroom - on hemp and sawdust.
The specialist tells why growing reishi mushrooms can be a profitable business project, and how to create conditions for its growth:
Growing on stumps
It will take stumps, substrate and mycelium. The area on which the reishi will grow should be protected from the sun. It is desirable that the fungus grows in a humid environment. Cultivation order on stumps:
1 Preparation of stumps
The ideal option is when there are stumps of fruit or deciduous trees on the site. Stumps from conifers do not fit. If there are no stumps, you have to prepare them in advance. Harvesting is best done from autumn to spring - when the stumps have the strongest bark. In the pre-spring period, the maximum content of nutrients in the cortex.
2Tillage
The stumps on which the shiny ganoderma will parasitize are placed in nutrient soil. Saprophytes need enhanced nutrition - they need vitamins and minerals. Not on any ground you can grow reishi. To be sure of the crop, it is better to make a substrate with your own hands.
Preparation of substrate:
- Take peat, limestone and soil in the proportions of 5: 1: 4.
- To increase nutritional value, manure or straw is added to the mixture.
- The ingredients are thoroughly mixed and fertilized the hole in which the stump will be placed.
- When a stump is placed in a recess, it is also surrounded by a nutrient substrate around the perimeter.
3Mycelial sowing
It is practically unrealistic to get lingzhi mycelium on your own, so mushroom growers buy ready-made mycelium. Sowing is preceded by the creation of planting holes - their depth is 7 cm and their diameter is 1.2 cm. Sticks with mycelium are inserted into the finished holes. The rate of germination and yield of the fungus depends on the number of sticks infected with mycelium - the more seed is planted, the faster the first lynchia will appear.
4 The planted area is covered with a film
The optimum temperature for the development of mushrooms is 20-26 ° C. Stumps for better rooting of the mycelium are often transferred to the room. If this cannot be done, you can close the cuts with mycelium paraffin, and then ground the hemp.
Sawdust cultivation
The advantage of this method is speed. Harvested on sawdust faster than on stumps. But the hassle of this method of growing requires more. The procedure for growing lingzhi on sawdust:
1 Preparation of sawdust substrate
Sawdust is mixed - 80%, with other nutrients - 20%. You can, for example, add oat or barley husk. Minerals are also attached - chalk or gypsum, but not more than 2%. After mixing and moistening the mixture, it is dried - sterilized at a temperature of 90 degrees. Processing time - 5 hours. If the substrate is harvested a lot, sterilization is recommended to be repeated.
2Sowing mycelium
The prepared substrate is laid out in boxes. It is necessary to sow mycelium at 30 degrees of heat - it is simply immersed in prepared soil. Sprinkle on top of the planting and leave to germinate - for 15-20 days. The temperature should be maintained in the range of 18-26 ° C, and humidity - 75%. The substrate must be monitored - it should not be wet, but it must not dry out.
Reishi Growth Conditions
In order for the lacquered tinder fungus to fruitfully, mushroom growers must provide him with the most favorable growing conditions:
- To make mushrooms appear as soon as possible, holes are made in the container with the substrate.
- “Plantation” should be in partial shade - direct sunlight should not be allowed.
- During growth and development, the optimum temperature is + 23 ÷ + 25 ° C. Winter temperature should not fall below minus 18 ° С.
- To maintain humidity at the proper level - 75%, moist claydite is placed in the room - it can be laid out on a baking sheet. Weekly mushrooms should be sprayed with warm water.
- Watering the planting is necessary depending on the state of the substrate. If it dries, it is moistened with water - rain or boiled.
- If the substrate is prepared correctly, no additional dressing is needed.
If you overdo it with watering and humidity, rot and mold may appear. Humidity also attracts various insects - spiders, ticks, slugs. To prevent this from happening it is necessary:
- sanitize the room before boarding;
- provide ventilation of the room.
How to prepare and store raw materials?
Preparation of varnished tinder fungus is recommended in July-November. Mushrooms purchased are usually sold dry - they are already prepared for storage. If you use your crop as blanks, you will have to dry the grown lingzhi yourself:
- Wipe the cut mushrooms with dry paper towels - you need to remove the soil and litter. Reishi, after collecting, is strictly forbidden to wash.
- Having cleared the mushrooms from impurities, they are cut into large pieces. Then the pieces are evenly distributed over the parchment and sent to the oven - to dry at a temperature of 45 degrees. After waiting for the slices to stop sticking to the paper, they increase the heating to 70 degrees. Now the oven needs to be closed completely.
- The dried mushroom is laid out in jars, corked with lids and put into storage. The room should be maintained at a temperature not exceeding +25 degrees.
In a dark and cool room, Reishi can be stored for two years - mushrooms will not lose their healing properties.
So that the healing Reishi mushroom does not become a source of additional problems, it must be collected only in ecologically favorable zones. And those who are going to use it for treatment should definitely consult with specialists.
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