Detailed Explanation of Key Points on Polyporus umbellatus Cultivation Techniques

(I) Overview

Alias wild pig dung, ground black peach, powder Polyporus, etc.

It is the sclerotium of Polyporus umbellatus (Pers.) Fr. [Grifola umbellata Pilat], a plant of the genus Polyporus in the family Polyporaceae. Its nature and flavor are neutral, sweet, and bland. It has the function of promoting urination and draining dampness. In recent years, Polyporus umbellatus has been found to have anticancer effects. It is used for acute nephritis, general edema, dropsy, difficult urination, heat strangury, urgency of urination, frequency of urination, urethral pain, thirst with vomiting upon drinking, summerheat diarrhea, jaundice, and other conditions. It is widely distributed in our country; it is produced in Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, Liaoning, Jilin, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Gansu, and other provinces. In Shaanxi Province, there are wild plants in the Qinling and Bashan mountain areas of Ankang, Hanzhong, Shangluo, Baoji, Chang'an, Weinan, and other places.

(II) Plant Characteristics

Polyporus umbellatus belongs to the Basidiomycetes, Polyporaceae; its hyphae become specialized to form a sclerotium. The sclerotium is elongated and block-like or irregularly spherical, slightly flattened, sometimes branched like dried ginger, with a surface that is grayish-black or white to light brown, uneven, with wrinkles or wart-like protrusions; after drying it is hard but not solid, and the cut surface is white to light brown, semi-lignified. The fruiting body grows out from the sclerotium buried underground. The stipe is often connected at the base or branches abundantly, forming a cluster of caps, with a total diameter of more than 15 cm. The cap is fleshy, hard and brittle after drying, round, with a depressed center, the surface nearly white to light brown, the margin thin and sharp, often inrolled. The flesh is thin and white. The tubes are the same color as the flesh and decurrent along the stipe; the pores are round to angular, 3-4 per millimeter.

(III) Growth Characteristics

It prefers fertile, moist, humus-rich, well-drained shaded slopes and cultivated land. Polyporus umbellatus begins to grow when the temperature 5 cm below the ground surface is 8-9°C; growth is optimal at 15-20°C; at 25-30°C the hyphae stop growing and enter a short dormancy, or produce fruiting bodies to pass through unfavorable conditions and reproduce and survive by spores. In late autumn and early winter, when the temperature 5 cm below the ground surface is lower than 8°C, it again enters winter dormancy. During the year, April to June and September to October are the active growth periods for Polyporus umbellatus hyphae.

(IV) Cultivation Techniques

1. Site Selection and Land Preparation

It is best to choose woodland at an altitude of 1000-2000 m, with a slope aspect toward the southeast or southwest, that is, a semi-shaded slope, with deep soil, abundant humus, and loose sandy loam. The vegetation is woodland of birch, oak, maple, and birch, etc.

2. Propagation Methods

At present, artificial cultivation mostly uses small Polyporus umbellatus for propagation.

3. Cultivation Time

It is best in spring from March to April or autumn from July to August. At this time Polyporus umbellatus is passing through dormancy and entering the growth period, and Armillaria mellea is also in its growth period, so the two can establish a good symbiotic relationship with each other.

4. Cultivation Methods

Pit cultivation is used, generally with pits 50 cm deep and 70 cm long and wide. Cultivation under forest not only prevents damage to the forest, but also creates a suitable environment for Polyporus umbellatus and prevents soil erosion. Before cultivation, first cultivate the fungal bed or fungal wood for Armillaria mellea. Generally, rotten tree roots, branches, and bark with Armillaria mellea are used as spawn, and newly cut tree sticks (about 10 cm thick, cut into short sections 50-60 cm long) are piled in the pit, covered with 20-25 cm of soil; with suitable temperature, they can be used after 1-2 months. One may also use fungal wood cultivated in preparation for planting Gastrodia elata, or old sticks that have been used to plant Gastrodia elata and are not yet rotten and have no contaminating fungi to cultivate Polyporus umbellatus. For one nest, use 5 fungal sticks and sow 0.18 kg of sclerotium. When planting, select complete, uninjured, fresh wild small Polyporus umbellatus, or divide the Polyporus umbellatus sclerotium into small pieces, each about the size of a walnut, and press firmly with the fingers so that the cut surface of the hyphae broken off from the sclerotium closely contacts the fungal wood. On one fungal stick, 7-8 sclerotium pieces can be pressed and placed. After planting one stick, surround it well with humus soil, leaving no gaps. Repeat in this way; generally only one layer is planted, and it is best to cover with 20-25 cm of humus soil, slightly higher than the ground surface. After two years, it can be dug for harvest.

(V) Harvesting and Processing

Polyporus umbellatus has a perennial habit; yield is not high within one or two years, and it is in the period of vigorous reproduction only after three or four years of cultivation. During harvest, pay attention to the sclerotia in the surface soil layer. It can be harvested throughout the year, with summer and autumn being better. Those that are black in color and hard in texture are called old sclerotia; these are commercial Polyporus umbellatus, that is, first-generation and second-generation Polyporus umbellatus. Light brown or yellow Polyporus umbellatus with fresh and tender color generally has a soft sclerotium body and can be used as seed sclerotia.

At harvest, remove the old and keep the young. Clean the harvested Polyporus umbellatus sclerotia by removing impurities and scrubbing them thoroughly, then dry them naturally in sunlight; after drying, they can be packed, transported, and sold. Pack in hemp sacks or bamboo baskets and store in a dry place.

Those with a black, glossy outer skin, heavy weight, firm texture, and a white or yellow cut surface are considered superior.