Antrodia mushrooms a well kept secret

Polypores (Ganoderma sp.) growing on a tree in Borneo

In our previous posting we had it about different sorts of birches. Today this brings us to the birch polypore, birch bracket, or razor strop, and other fungi on birches. Polypores belong to a large order of pore fungi within the phylum Basidiomycota (kingdom Fungi) that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside. there are about 2,300 known species.

The inedible birch fungus Polyporus betulinus causes decay on birch trees in the northern United States and is a common bracket fungus and, as the name suggests, grows almost exclusively on birch trees. The brackets burst out from the bark of the tree, and these fruit bodies can last for more than a year.

By the genus Ganoderma several species, including the well-known reishi, or lingzhi, mushroom (G. lucidum), are commonly used in traditional Asian medicine and have received growing interest by researchers for use in the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

Antrodia cinnamomea, a fungus species described as new to science in 1995.

For hundreds of years, the Taiwanese have used antrodia mushrooms harvested from high-altitude Cinnamomum Kanehirai trees to treat a variety of ailments. Studies show that compounds in antrodia mushrooms fight biochemical radicals, boost energy levels, and even give powerful support to a multitude of biochemical processes that naturally take place across your entire body.

The flat, ruffled orange mushrooms grow far away on high-altitude Cinnamomum Kanehirai trees in Taiwan, where locals have treasured their incredible health-enhancing effects for hundreds of years. Antrodia cinnamomea has been found to produce anti-obesogenic, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic effects in high-fat diet-fed mice.

The annual market is worth over $100 million (US) in Taiwan alone. 

 

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Preceding

Dramatic winter displays

Subsequent message:

Antrodia Camphorata