Proper Harvesting of Reishi Mushroom
Here in the northeast we have lots of Reishi Mushroom (Ganoderma tsugae) and even though it’s abundant I feel it’s still important to harvest it properly if you’re going to be doing so! Whenever possible please please please harvest once the mushroom has matured and released its spores so it can proliferate and spread!
This is the same idea as harvesting roots in the fall once the plants have dropped their seed. In herbalism I believe it’s just as important to understand the ecology of the plant as it is to know it’s medicinal value, especially if you are going to be gathering it in the wild.
Pictured here is Reishi that’s mature and has released its spores- that’s what all the rusty powder is that you’re seeing on the mushroom and on the logs in the pictures below! It ejects its spores from the underside and wind (which newer research is showing mushrooms may be able to generate themselves !!!), carries the spores upwards and out, hence the powdery coating on the mushrooms and also the dead Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) they’re growing on.
How to know a Reishi mushroom is too young to harvest? It will have white around the edges of the cap and also sometimes be yellowish. Leave these babies alone so they can mature and release their spores! And remember that many animals love Reishi too and that you should never ever take them all. From a flush like this I would never harvest more than 2 or 3 and often I leave them alone entirely. And remember to always learn the life cycle and ecology of any herb or mushroom you’re wild harvesting!
