Where does reishi mushroom grow? A detailed explanation of the reishi mushroom's growing environment

Reishi mushroom is also known as forest spirit, qiongzhen, ruicao, and so on. It is the fruiting body of the fungus Ganoderma lucidum in the family Polyporaceae. Since ancient times it has been regarded by generations of physicians as a miraculous treasure for nourishing and strengthening the body and supporting vital energy. It has the effects of tonifying qi and calming the mind, relieving cough and asthma, and prolonging life. It is used for dizziness, insomnia, palpitations, shortness of breath, neurasthenia, and consumptive cough and asthma. Now let us take a look at where reishi mushroom grows!

Where does reishi mushroom grow?

Reishi mushroom is a medicinal material famous both in China and abroad. Those growing in forests are considered the best in quality and the highest in medicinal efficacy. It mainly grows in relatively moist places, on the base of dead trunks of various broadleaf trees and on the ground around them, with the stipe growing on underground dead tree roots and decaying wood. At present, it is also cultivated in artificial greenhouses. About 100 or more species of fungi in the genus Ganoderma are currently known. The most widely distributed is Ganoderma lucidum (red reishi), followed by Ganoderma sinense (purple reishi). There are also Ganoderma applanatum, Ganoderma tsugae, and Ganoderma gibbosum, all of which are used medicinally.

Where are the producing areas of reishi mushroom?

Reishi mushroom is mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical zones of Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas, with a few distributed in temperate regions. It is commonly distributed in China. Some output is found in Zhejiang Longquan, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui Huoshan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and other provinces and regions, among which the reishi mushroom cultivation scale in Zhejiang Longquan, Anhui, and the Shandong Tai'an area is relatively concentrated.

The growing environment of reishi mushroom

1. Temperature: The fruiting body primordia of reishi mushroom can form in large numbers at 25-30°C, form less at below 22°C, and after primordia form above 34°C are very prone to forming nodular protrusions. The cap grows faster at 28-30°C, and its quality is better at 24-26°C.

2. Humidity: The fruiting body of reishi mushroom has high-humidity and constant-humidity requirements. The suitable relative humidity is 90-95%, and from the appearance of primordia to the maturation of the fruiting body, the humidity should remain relatively constant.

3. Air: The fruiting body of reishi mushroom can differentiate normally when the carbon dioxide volume fraction is less than 0.1%. When the carbon dioxide volume fraction in the air is within 0.03-0.06%, cap differentiation is faster. When the carbon dioxide volume fraction reaches above 0.1%, it is difficult for the cap to differentiate and form.

4. Light: The fruiting body of reishi mushroom is very sensitive to light. Light intensity and light source direction both have a great influence on fruiting body growth. When the intensity is 4000-6000LX, the fruiting body develops normally. When the light is stronger, the stipe is slender, the cap does not differentiate, or a small and thin cap forms.

What types of reishi mushroom are there?

1. Qingzhi: Qingzhi is similar to Yunzhi. Its cap surface bears glossy multicolored hairs arranged in rings, including blue, dark blue, yellowish brown, brown, white, and black, in feather-like and other forms. In ancient literature, its main function is mostly recorded as “improving eyesight and tonifying liver qi.”

2. Chizhi: Chizhi is one of the reishi mushroom types with the best medicinal efficacy. It grows beside the stumps of oak and other broadleaf trees, and prefers places with dense vegetation, short light exposure, fertile surface soil, and moist, loose conditions. It is now artificially cultivated. Its medicinal part is its fruiting body.

3. Huangzhi: Huangzhi is Laetiporus sulphureus. It grows on the trunks of living trees such as willow and spruce and on dead standing trees. The cap surface is orange-red, orange-yellow to yellow, and becomes yellowish white after drying. It is edible when young and tender, and can regulate the body, improve health, and resist disease.

4. Baizhi: Baizhi has white flesh, shaped like a horse's hoof, and large ones can weigh several jin. It grows singly on the dead birch trunks of pine, coniferous, and broadleaf forests at an altitude of 3200 m. It has effects such as relieving cough and upward rushing qi, benefiting lung qi, clearing the mouth and nose, strengthening the will, and calming the ethereal soul.

5. Heizhi: Heizhi has a cap surface that is brown, dark brown, blackish brown to black, and has a long black stipe. It is distributed on forest ground and on buried wood underground in Fujian, Guangdong, Yunnan, Hainan, Guangxi, Xizang, and other places, or attached to decaying wood in the soil.

6. Zizhi: Zizhi resembles reishi mushroom. Its cap is semicircular, reddish brown on top, glossy and cloud-patterned, pale yellow underneath with fine pores, and its stipe is long and glossy. It grows on dead tree roots in mountainous areas. As medicine, it can benefit essence and qi and strengthen sinews and bones. The ancients regarded it as an auspicious herb, and Daoism regarded it as an immortal herb.