Reishi mushrooms are one of the easiest mushrooms to identify, and a great place to start for beginning mushroom foragers. They have no poisonous look-alikes, so they’re relatively safe as well. Though reishi are generally too tough to eat, their medicinal properties have been well documented.
Hemlock reishi harvested on the summer solstice in central Vermont.
There are a number of different reishi species, and each grows in a different region around the world. For the most part, their medicinal properties are the same and there is some argument that they’re actually the same species occupying different habitat niches.
All species grow on dead and dying trees and produce annually. Once you find reishi on a particular log or stump, they will continue to produce there every year until they’ve consumed all the wood substrate.
Reishi mushrooms are also known by the names lingzhi, mushroom of immortality, ten-thousand-year mushroom, herb of spiritual potency, varnish shelf and artists conk.
Reishi Mushroom Identification
The mushroom itself is kidney or fan-shaped and has a distinctive red to orange color, and a shiny lacquered finish on the top. It’s a polypore, so it lacks gills, but the underside is white (or tan or grey in older specimens) and has pinprick like dots. The flesh on the underside develops a brown/tan bruise when pressed.
Reishi mushroom pore surfaces bruise easily with any contact. Here’s the bruise from a thumbprint on the pore surface.
Only harvest fresh mushrooms with white undersides as they can potentially harbor dangerous molds when the mushrooms are past their prime or bruised and damaged. Since they’re easily bruised and damaged during harvest, reishi should be preserved quickly after harvest.
They vary in size from an inch wide to a foot wide and can be as much as 2 inches thick. More commonly, they’ll be 4 to 6 inches wide and 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick.
New growth on the leading edge comes in as white and gradually changes to red-orange. Young mushrooms that are rapidly growing may be mostly white as they emerge from the wood. The bright red-orange cap that is characteristic of hemlock reishi will come as they mature.
Here is a young reishi just emerging from a hemlock stump. It’s growing in quickly after a heavy rain, and we’ll have to wait another day or two for the characteristic red top to emerge.
As reishi get older, their flesh becomes tougher and the bright cap begins to dull. On my land, reishi rarely make it more than a few days before the slugs begin to devour them. The harvest season in central Vermont is right around the summer solstice, and I go out daily to make sure I catch the mushrooms before they’re slug eaten.
Hemlock reishi consumed by slugs after a heavy rain. They seem to only eat the red/orange varnish and their color changes to a bright orange when finished.
Reishi grows horizontally out of their host log, often with a very short or non-existent stem. They have a strong but pleasant woodsy scent, a bit like decomposing leaf mulch.
Spores emerge from the bottom side of the mushroom, and on logs where they’re growing one above the other, you’ll see spores released by the upper mushrooms dulling the caps of the mushrooms below. The spore print in all species is brown.
Ganoderma tsugae
Reishi Mushroom Species
Identifying reishi mushrooms varys a bit from region to region as different species have evolved based on location.
- Ganoderma lucidum – Is the species used in traditional Chinese medicine. It grows on hardwood (especially oaks) in warmer regions, such as Asia, the south Pacific, southern Europe and the Southeastern United States.
- Ganoderma tsugae – Found in the Northeastern United States, the species name “tsugae” means “hemlock tree” which tells you where you should begin looking for this species. Though it’s almost always found on hemlock, it can occasionally be found on birch or maple if they were growing close to hemlock. They can be found freshest between May and July. This species is also known as hemlock varnish shelf.
- Ganoderma applanatum – A particularly hard and woody reishi species, varying in size from 2 to 30 inches wide. Color is duller than others and lacks a lustrous shine. Very difficult to cut, and often must be cut with a saw into strips for drying. This species is an opportunist and can be found on many different tree species, both hard and soft wood.
- Ganoderma curtisii – Distributed from Massachusetts to Nebraska, this species has an especially dramatic ochre colored cap, that dulls as the mushroom ages. It has a matte rather than lacquered finish on its cap. Found on hardwood logs, usually oak or maple, but occasionally other hardwoods as well.
- Ganoderma sessile – A red shiny species that grows 3 to 16 inches across. The flesh is very soft and bendable, and unlike other species, if damaged the outer growth margin will produce a sap like resin. Found on hardwood, usually oak or maple, but occasionally other hardwoods as well.
- Ganoderma oregonense – As its name suggests, this species is native to the pacific northwest where it grows on conifers. The fruiting body is very large and can be up to a meter across.
Other species include: Ganoderma lingzhi, Ganoderma capense, Ganoderma carnosum and Ganoderma resinaceum.
Freshly Harvested Hemlock Reishi (Ganoderma tsugae) found in Early summer in Vermont.
Reishi Mushroom Look-Alikes
Reishi mushrooms have no poisonous look-alikes, making them ideal for the beginning mushroom forager. While it’s sometimes hard to distinguish between species of reishi mushroom, all reishi species are used in the same way. The fine distinctions between species are more academic than practical.
Be sure to only use fresh first-year reishi mushrooms with bright caps and white undersides. As the mushrooms age, the underside grows darker, turning tan or brown and the cap dulls. Older reishi mushrooms can harbor potentially harmful molds and should not be consumed.
Reishi can be confused with other polypore mushrooms, notably the red belted conk (fomitopsis pinicola). The red belted conk is a perennial mushroom, that’s hard and woody, unlike the spongy texture or reishi. Rather than developing new mushrooms each year, it just grows a new ring around the edge. Unlike reishi, the red belted conk will not bruise on the pore side when pressed.
Hard and woody Red Belted Conk mushroom on a standing dead.
Harvesting Reishi Mushrooms
Be sure that the pore surface on the underside is white, ensuring that the mushroom is a young specimen. Reishi can either be gently pulled from the tree host, or cut with a knife in softer specimens. Reishi grow at the base of trees near the ground and often grow around plants found growing nearby. Be sure that the mushroom you harvest hasn’t grown around any toxic plants, especially poison ivy which can sometimes be found nearby.
Adverse Reactions to Reishi
Be careful taking reishi if you’re on other medication, especially medicine that affects the liver. There have been some rare but documented allergic reactions, involving skin rash and stomach upset, all of which stopped when reishi was discontinued.
The underside of a Hemlock Reishi that has grown around a stick. Be careful they haven’t grown around toxic plants.
Storing Reishi Mushrooms
Reishi mushrooms spoil quickly after harvest unless they’re promptly dried. They will keep in a paper bag in the refrigerator for 3-5 days but are best when they’re promptly cut into thin strips and dried. Dried reishi mushrooms should be stored in an airtight container out of direct sunlight.
They can also be chopped and made into a reishi mushroom tincture directly after harvest, no drying required. Since reishi mushrooms have both water-soluble and alcohol-soluble constituents, a double extraction tincture is the best way to get all the medicinal benefits.
Sliced Reishi Mushroom preparing for tincture. If they’re sliced within an hour or so of harvest, it’s easier to get thin slices. This mushroom was sliced about 24 hours after harvest, and it was already too rubbery for thin slices.
Reishi Mushroom Medicinal Properties
In a class of medicines known as Adaptogens, reishi mushrooms help you to adapt to cope with physical and mental stresses. It’s best taken daily over an extended period, as it often takes a few weeks for reishi to build up in your system to have a positive impact.
They’re known to be analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-allergic and anti-tumor. Reishi mushrooms have also been shown to reduce blood pressure, blood cholesterol, blood sugar and reduce platelet aggregation that results in blood clots. Its effects on blood sugar were significant enough that it has been successfully used in the treatment of diabetes.
The antioxidant activity of compounds found in reishi mushrooms seem to target free radicals responsible for aging, and reishi helped reverse the effects of aging in lab mice. Reishi works to protect and strengthen the liver and has been successfully used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
The cancer-fighting properties of reishi mushrooms are well documented in scientific literature. Reishi doesn’t seem to fight cancer cells outside the body in tissue cultures, suggesting that the main anticancer effects are achieved by strengthening a person’s immune system and helping their body fight off cancer rather than attacking cancer directly.
The most common way to prepare reishi mushrooms is as a strong tea, where thinly sliced mushrooms are simmered for extended periods (1 to 2 hours) to extract their water-soluble constituents. The medicinal components of reishi can also be extracted in an alcohol-based tincture. The dried mushroom powder can also be put into reishi capsules and taken as a daily immune boosting supplement.
Chopped reishi mushrooms in vodka for tincture
Cooking Reishi Mushrooms
Though often too tough and woody to eat, they are technically edible. If you’d like to try eating one, harvest a very young mostly white growing tip just after it comes out of the log or stump. Dice it finely and sauté. I imagine you’ll be unimpressed, but give it a try.
Immature Cultivated Reishi (Ganoderma Lucidum) Image Source
Cultivating Reishi Mushrooms
If you have dead oak logs of stumps available, try growing your own by inoculating with reishi dowel plugs. I have not been able to find hemlock reishi spores or plugs online, but I have had success placing a freshly harvested hemlock reishi on top of a freshly cut hemlock stump. Our stump produced mushrooms the following year and has continued to be productive.
Commercial Reishi Cultivation
Mushroom Foraging Resources
Excited about getting out into the woods and foraging mushrooms this year? Here’s a bunch of other easy to identify mushrooms:
Or if you’re feeling extra ambitious, you can always try your hand at cultivating shiitake mushrooms.
For more information on foraging reishi mushrooms, try any of these references:
- The Complete Mushroom Hunter
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to Mushrooms
- Mushrooming without Fear
- Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest
- Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest
- Mushrooms of New England and Eastern Canada
- Mushrooms of the Midwest to New England
Amanda Raynes
SO HELPFUL! Thank you 🙂
Zack
Great info! I will definitely reference next season.
Cindy Black
Thank you for this in-depth and inspiring post! I have just begun my obsession with Reishi Mushrooms – your post has been very helpful. I can’t wait to find my first Reishi 🙂
zero
¨The dried mushroom powder can also be put into reishi capsules and taken as a daily immune boosting supplement.´´
actually, consuming the dry powder is next to useless
Reason?
Mushrooms cells are made of a compound called ´chitin´, which is the hardest natural substance known to man, also what insects shells are made of.
the necessary enyzme to break down this cell wall (and thus digest the nutrients contained within) is called
Chitinase
Humans due to variances in genetics, posess differing amounts of this enzyme
20% dont have it at all (thus no bioavailability at all)
60% have just a bit (poor absorbtion)
20% have slightly more
So, according to statistics, you´re quite likely to get little to no effect from consuming dry powder
Making a Tea with Hot water, or a tincture with Alchoho l (high quality ethanol prefferably) is really the only options
for consuming mushrooms and getting their medicinal benefits
Ashley Adamant
Interesting. I’d be inclined to agree with you, and generally, I tincture or tea mushrooms myself. I’ve always thought those mushroom pills must be convenient, but they’re expensive, so I’ve never used them. You make good points and everything I’ve read about reishi in particular talks about the importance of extraction methods.
I tried a bit of quick googling to verify what you’ve noted above, and I can’t find anything specific to refute or deny the bioavailability of mushroom powders, but my gut tells me you’re right.
Pat Surowiec
Quality mushroom powders are made by first extracting the mushrooms then low temperature drying to leave an extract powder. Those are ok to encapsulate. I prefer to make mine into tea and enjoy the time it takes to sit and relax with some amazing Reishi tea.
Monique Laramée
Hi,
Very helpful. I have cultivated a reishi mushroom that is tan underneath rather then white, I have sliced it. It seems perfectly healthy and kind of dry but easy to cut with a kitchen knife. Do you think I could still use it and put it in alcohol? I also would like to know whether the other mushrooms still on the hemlock will be suitable to harvest next year?
Ashley Adamant
If it’s tan on the underside but still pliable and cuttable with a knife then it’s likely still fine. It doesn’t take much to make them brown on the underside, and I wouldn’t worry about that. But obviously, use your best judgment because you can see it and I cant.
Any mushroom growing on the tree this year will not be harvestable next year. Reishi are an annual mushroom, and they must be harvested fresh in the year they’re grown. They will not continue growing next year. If they continue growing year after year, they’re a perennial mushroom and not a reishi.
Jason Lawson
no offense intended. However I feel like you’re encouraging poor harvesting techniques by encouraging people to harvest young immature fruit bodies. I’ve always been taught to not harvest Reishi until after they’ve dropped are spores that’s why the underside is turned brown not because they’re turning bad. If you harvest fruit bodies before they have a chance to drop their spores they have no way of reproducing. The issues with overharvesting when wild crafting / foraging Especially mushrooms is not overharvesting per se rather harvesting too early.
Steve
Thanks for your extremely thoughtful and helpful insights. I have reishi growing on hemlock logs, tree and stumps. I will now will pay more attention and harvest them next year. Sadly, missed my chance 4 weeks ago.
Michelle Cyr
What a great article! I’ve really learned coming to your site on various topics. so thankyou for that! Hemlock does not grow in this area so I was wondering if those plugs would work on other types of trees. I have a poplar stump in my side yard, quite shatded most of the day…would that work I wonder? I would so love to build a whole colony of different mushrooms on that stump….esp fresh eating kinds.
Ashley Adamant
To the best of my knowledge, reishi doesn’t grow on poplar. But…oyster mushrooms love poplar. We had a bunch of poplars come down on our land and I was just recently trying to find good mushroom options for those. I decided on oyster, because they’re easy to grow and versatile to use.
Derrek
I found you website on a google search. Can I please ask your assistance in Identifying the species of mushroom I found ?
I wild guese and I think it is Reishi ….due to resemblance. But it doesn’t occur naturally here in South Africa, where i live.
Can I please ask for your best estimate of that it is? Genus and species . The Tree on which it’s growing was only resonantly cracked and blown over by heavy winds in the last two months. so the mushroom is very young. Pix available
How can i email or whatsapp them.
Regards Derrek
Ashley Adamant
Hey Derrek, I’m not a professional and I don’t identify mushrooms for others, I just try to put the information out there with what I use to identify them on my own land. I’m no expert on what you might have in your neck of the woods. That said, there is a facebook group I’d suggest for this type of thing, the Mushroom ID Forum: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MushroomID/ Be sure to double check any advice you get there, most people that comment are knowledgeable but not everyone. Good luck!
Rose
My only experience with reishi is reishi in coffee :). This stuff is great for people with gut issues. Tastes great with a little non-dairy creamer as well. I love coffee and this was great when I had IBS flare up and had to give up regular coffee for a while until my stomach was normal again. My most favourite brand is ANI reishi coffee
Ashley Adamant
Good to know! I’ve never tried reishi coffee, but when they’re in season this summer I’m going to give it a shot now.
Daniel Shields
Thank you for sharing and spreading awareness! It is nice to know how to spot the right mushroom in the wild. Nevertheless, we can still eat some of them even if they are not medicinal it can still cure our hunger. It has endless capabilities!
T. Rather
Very well written and love the great photos.! Thank you!
Jason Michael
That’s looking great. REISHI MUSHROOMS is really rare. So it’s really so helpful I’m so happy and excited after seeing this article. Thank you so much for sharing.
Admin
You’re welcome!
Kristiina
What a great site, thank you. I’ve been growing reishi out of one of those grow bags you can buy. i just harvested one and had it sitting on a bamboo mat for about 24hrs. i noticed a distinct fishy smell that wasn’t there when I initially picked it. maybe an obvious stupid question, but does that mean it’s gone bad? the underside is gray and it’s still pliable. thanks again for the amazing site!
Admin
As mushrooms dry in the sun, they can take one a strong odor. I haven’t encountered a fishing smell with reishi, but I know with other mushrooms like oysters, they can take on a fishy smell as they mature.
Kurt
Nice overview on reishi mushrooms. Thank you for taking the time to put it together.
One correction I would suggest is to change “polyspore” to polypore in the description of this type of fungus.
Ashley Adamant
Oops! Thanks for catching that type-o.
LR
I just harvested some and the undersides are definitely not white. mostly brown with some spots starting to mold. i also found a few larvae inside when i cut them. they were tough to cut. based on this post, i feel like i probably shouldn’t take a chance. I harvested too late? so disappointing!
Administrator
Unfortunately it does sound like you harvested them too late and shouldn’t consume them. The good news is that you will know exactly where to look next year for more.
Jeanne C
Just loved this article. I live in North Idaho and know I have seen the Reishi Mushroom. I harvest several other types of mushrooms as well, but this one was elusive for me UNITL NOW thanks to you!!!
Administrator
That’s wonderful. So glad you enjoyed the article!