Estimated value
$8–25/lb fresh
Dried $25–80/lb
Dried whole conks or slices. Wild hemlock reishi (G. oregonense) is a PNW specialty.
medicinal · medicinal
Reishi / Varnished Conk
Ganoderma lucidum / G. oregonense
Also called Lingzhi, Hemlock varnish shelf
Field marks
- Spore print
- Brown
- Smell
- Bitter wood, cocoa
- Trees / hosts
- Hemlock, Oak, Maple
- Elevation
- Low to montane.
Description
Shiny, lacquered red-brown kidney-shaped shelf with white growing edge and brown pores. Woody — simmered for tea, not fried as a steak.
Where it grows
Stumps and wounded trunks of hemlock, oak, maple.
How to find it
Scan hemlock and hardwood stumps for a wet-looking red lacquer. Year-round woody body; new growth in summer–fall.
How to pick
Cut at the attachment. Dry thoroughly to prevent mold. Leave some on each stump.
Medicinal notes
Classic East-Asian tonic. Triterpenes and beta-glucans studied for sleep, liver, and immune modulation. Evidence is mixed-to-promising. Not a licensed drug in most countries. Avoid disease-cure claims if you sell.
Psychoactive / controlled
None. May be sedating in tea form for some people.
Law
Legal to forage and sell as tea/food. Supplement claims are regulated (FDA/CFIA/EU).
Lookalikes
Artist's conk (G. applanatum)
Dull, not varnished. Used for drawing, weaker tea.
Red-belted conk
Different genus, orange belt, not lacquered red.
Field ID ticket
Tick every required mark in the woods. 0/2 required. This still is not laboratory certainty.
Do not eat or sell this specimen. Missing required marks.