Origin:
The whole plant of Ganoderma lucidum (Leyss. ex. Fr.) Karst. or Ganoderma japonicum (Fr.) Lloyd, of the family Ganodermataceae. Synonyms Polyporus lucidum Leyss. Fr., or Ganoderma lucidum (Curt. Fr.) P. Karst. Native to north Asia, lingzhi grows in densely wooded mountains of high humidity and dim lighting in China and Japan. It is rarely found since it flourishes mainly on the dried trunks of dead maples and other decaying hardwoods, rather than on conifers. Out of 10,000 such aged trees on the whole hill, perhaps 2 or 3 will have lingzhi growth, therefore it is very scarce indeed. Lingzhi is now widely cultivated for medicinal and cultural purposes, though wild specimens are preferred.
Production of lingzhi in Japan in 1988 is estimated to be about 250 tons as dry basis. Commercial cultivation has also prospered in China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and North America. In China, a total output of lingzhi harvest reaches up to 3,000 tons. They are mainly planted in about 10 regions; such as the outskirts of Beijing, Changchun of Jilut Province, Chengdu of Sichuang Province, Longqiuan of Zhejin Province; and in Auhui, Pujitan Province.
Lingzhi can be planted in logs or vinyl bags. The vinyl bags method is preferred in regions producing large volumes (over 1,000 tons annually); logs method can be found in Longqiuan, Changchun and Chengdu. These two cities have set up cooperative programs with Japan for cultivating lingzhi.
In addition, attempts are being made to obtain useful mycelial content or to produce effective substances into a medium by means of solid or liquid culture of the mycelia. Most of medicinal ingredients of G. lucidum are contained in its pileus (hymenophore).
Relatively rare and undiscovered in the West, lingzhi and other mushrooms have been revered as herbal medicines for thousands of years in China and Japan. Chinese emperors and Japanese royalty drank teas and concoctions of the mushroom for vitality and long life. As it was so rare, lingzhi was available only to emperors in ancient times. The first emperor of China, Shih Huang Ti, sent a fleet with 250 young men and 250 young ladies to Japan in search of the herb of longevity, which was reported to be lingzhi. The ancient Taoists were constantly searching for the elixir of eternal youth, and lingzhi was believed to be among the ingredients.
Lingzhi is a beautiful, glossy, yellowish-red mushroom closely resembles the hemlock varnish shelf mushroom. Other colors include black, purple, yellow, etc. Used strictly for medicinal purposes, lingzhi is a hard and mildly bitter mushroom. Lingzhi is a polypore mushroom. Polypores are conspicuous mushrooms that grow off the sides of trees. The actual mushroom organism, or mycelium, is a network of the threadlike filaments that originates from spores. The mycelium spreads throughout the nutrient base or substrate, amassing nutrients as it grows. They live in soil, logs and other organic trash. As long as nutrients are available, the mycelium can be considered perennial and will live for many years. At least once a year, mushrooms emerge from the mycelial network. As the reproductive organ of the fungus, mushrooms are the means by which spores are created and spread.
Unlike green plants, which produce many of their own nutrients by photosynthesis, mushrooms primarily get their nutrients from dead organic matter or soil. Mushrooms and their mycelium are nature's original recyclers. Without them, the planet surface would be piled high with dead, decaying material.
Mushrooms rise out of the mycelium when the right nutrients are amassed and the right environmental conditions are present. Mushrooms release spores at maturity. The wind spreads them and when they land on the right spot, the cycle starts over again.
Lingzhi is a medicinal fungus with long history in China as a tonic and remedy. Lingzhi was highly ranked as an herbal medicine in Shen Nong Materia Medica (Shen Nung Ben Cao Jing) which was published in the second century B.C. In it, 365 kinds of medicines are classified and explained. The medicines are basically classified into 3 categories: 120 of them are declared to be "superior" medicines, another 120 are classified as "average" medicines, and the remaining 125 are placed in the "fair" category.
The "superior" medicines are called "God's Herbs" and they are for perpetual youth and longevity--the medicines of the legendary wizards. The "average" category medicines are those which can be taken as a tonic, and those in the "fair" category are taken to remedy specific ailments.
One must be careful about the volume taken of the "average" and "fair" category medicines, and should never take them continuously. However, the book states that for "superior" medicines, any amount can be taken as desired on a continuous basis with no unfavorable effects. Of the superior medicines listed in the text, lingzhi was rated number one.
6 species of lingzhi in 6 different colors are mentioned in the classic: red, purple, green, white, black, and yellow. However, in 1972, researchers at Kyoto University in Japan successfully cultivated reishi (lingzhi) in the laboratory. From a single species, Ganoderma lucidum (red lingzhi), all six colors could be grown by varying the temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide content, and the available nutrients. The six types of lingzhi are thus shown to be one species.
Li Shi Zhen (1368-1644), a well-known Chinese physician of the Ming Dynasty, also described the efficacy and medical uses of lingzhi in the classic Compendium of Materia (Ben Caolingzhi often is associated with health and recuperation, longevity, wisdom, and happiness. It is believed that certain triterpenes and polysaccharides may account for the multiple activities of lingzhi. Thus, considerable time and effort has gone into the isolation and characterization of these compounds.
Also spelled as Lingzhi, Ling-zhi or Ling chih. In Japan, it is known as Reishi or Mannentake.
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