Tiger milk mushrooms，what is lignosus Rhino
tiger milk mushrooms (lignosus Rhino)｜Regulates blood and qi, relieves cough and asthma! Dr. Y.L. Kee recommends tiger milk mushrooms.
Understanding tiger milk mushrooms
tiger milk mushrooms, also known as tiger milk mushrooms, mushroom kernel side ear or Poria, belongs to the family Polyporaceae, grows in the shady and humid environment of the forest, and its fruiting bodies and kernels have precious edible and medicinal value. Mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical areas, including Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hainan and other regions.
In Malaysia, it is locally known as “Tiger Milk Ganoderma” because of its resemblance to Ganoderma lucidum in form: a gray cap with a stalk extending downward from the center of the cap, with the nucleus structure, which is the core of its medicinal effect, attached to the base. The fungus consists of three parts: the nucleus (underground tuber), the stalk (stem) and the cap (cap), with the nucleus being the most effective. Typical fungal nucleus is irregular block, diameter 1-5cm, thickness 1-3cm, surface gray-brown with natural lines, the texture is dense snow-white for the best, chewing with a slightly sticky feeling.
History of tiger milk mushrooms
The earliest scientific record is found in John Evelyn’s Diary in 1664, the sample is taken from Penang, Malaysia, and has been used for 400 years. It was once used as a valuable gift to foreign ambassadors of the Southeast Asian royal family, and was documented by British botanist Henry N. Ridley as an important herb in traditional Malay medicine, and was still commonly used by the local population for daily health care in the 1950s and 1960s.
With the popularization of western medicine in the 1970s, its use has gradually declined, but there are still TCM practitioners who have inherited the use of it. The former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, suffered from respiratory problems for a long time, and after being treated by Western medicine, he eventually recovered through the use of tiger milk mushrooms, a remedy recommended by Chinese medicine practitioners.
Ecological Properties of tiger milk mushrooms
The name comes from a unique ecological legend: the mother tiger’s milk dripped on the ground after giving birth, and contacted with microorganisms in the air to form a fungus, which naturally evolved into an underground nucleus. When the white tissue is ground into powder and water is added, it will show a milky texture, so it is called “tiger’s milk” by the folk image. Modern research has confirmed that this is a natural growth phenomenon of specific fungi.
