Cooking Ganoderma oregonense

Here we show you Ganoderma oregonense growing in the wild, harvesting and taking it into the kitchen to cook with my friend Laura Barker. Filmed by Pamela Kryskow, MD. 

Ganoderma oregonense has a funny name since it is not restricted to Oregon but grows from northern California deep into British Columbia. Common names include the Western Varnished Conk, aka Oregon Reishi or Oregon Ling chi. This species – like other Ganodermas – cause a white rot in trees, meaning that enzymes it secretes called lignases, break down the lignin, leaving the predominant cellulose more intact. [Hence the rotted wood has a more whitish color than brown.]  Ganoderma oregonense grows on conifers and is prolific in aging forests on the Pacific Northwest of North America. Typically an annual polypore, I have found specimens 2-3 feet across – first forming in the spring and growing in a few months to this massive size, only to die off, and support many insect communities in the next year as it decomposes. 

This varnished wood conk is related to the species in the Ganoderma lucidum complex:  all are gorgeous when wet, having a shiny surface. When initially growing, its leading edge is white, thick and soft. Surprisingly, this tissue is easily cut into thin sections and is edible, although I know few who have ever consumed it besides my inner circle of myconauts. It is the only Ganoderma I have been able to slice, cook and eat. Most others are too hard, and are made into teas or tinctures, due to their woody texture.

I know of no nutritional analysis of this mushroom but suspect the soft whiter tissue is more nutritious than the hardened browner form that it becomes as it matures. Mushrooms change in their biochemistry from young to old, a subject of interest that is understudied. One report shows that G. oregonense is able to survive at higher temperatures due to its upregulation of nitric oxide under heat stress, a reaction that could be medically significant for scavenging diseased cells in humans. A related species, Ganoderma tsugae mycelium can be used for wound healing. PMID: 9916772 DOI: 10.1016/s0142-9612(98)00139-2

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961298001392 

#mushrooms #fungi #conks #ganoderma #woundhealing #skin