Estimated value
$4–14/lb fresh
Dried $18–45/lb
Dried, clean, fully zoned brackets. PSK/PSP extract market is huge; wild dried tea is a smaller cottage SKU. Must show true pores, not teeth.
medicinal · medicinal
Turkey Tail
Trametes versicolor
Also called Yun zhi, Kawaratake
Field marks
- Spore print
- White
- Smell
- Mild, woody
- Trees / hosts
- Oak, Maple, Beech, Birch, many hardwoods
- Elevation
- Wide.
Description
Thin, flexible brackets with concentric zones of brown, rust, blue-gray, and a white growing edge. Underside is a layer of tiny round white-to-cream pores — never gills, never teeth. Flesh is thin and leathery. One of the most studied medicinal polypores (PSK).
Where it grows
Dead hardwood logs and stumps.
How to find it
Almost any hardwood deadwood in the wet months. Look at the ends of oak, maple, and beech logs. Year-round woody body; new growth after rain.
How to pick
Cut clean brackets, brush, and dry immediately. Leave plenty. Confirm pores with a hand lens — false turkey tails have a smooth or toothed underside.
Medicinal notes
PSK (krestin) is a prescribed adjuvant in Japan. Western evidence is mixed-to-promising for immune support. This is not a cancer cure. Selling disease claims is regulated. Tea/food use is the conservative path; talk to a clinician.
Psychoactive / controlled
None.
Law
Legal tea/food. Supplement claims are regulated (FDA/CFIA/EU).
Lookalikes
False turkey tail (Stereum)
Smooth underside, no pores. Common. Weaker tea, different fungus.
Violet-toothed polypore
Tooth-like underside, purple tones. Not T. versicolor.
Field ID ticket
Tick every required mark in the woods. 0/3 required. This still is not laboratory certainty.
Do not eat or sell this specimen. Missing required marks.