Reishi (lingzhi) is a varnished, kidney-shaped bracket fungus revered for over two millennia in Chinese and Japanese medicine as a tonic of longevity. It is not a culinary mushroom: the woody fruiting body is far too tough and bitter to eat, so it is sliced and simmered for hours into teas, decoctions, and broths, or extracted into tinctures and powders. Modern research focuses on its triterpenes and beta-glucans for immune and other effects, with promising but not conclusive human evidence. It is cultivated widely on hardwood. Treat any health claim with appropriate skepticism — a tonic, not a cure.
Intensely bitter and woody; consumed as tea or extract, not eaten.
Cultivated year-round; wild brackets appear in warm months on hardwoods.
Identification is a chain of clues that must all agree. This is a reference, not an identification authority -- confirm every wild find with an expert.
Dull (not varnished) brown bracket; not the lingzhi used medicinally.
Glossy varnished reddish-brown kidney-shaped bracket on wood, white-to-brown pore underside, corky-hard. Used medicinally, not as food. Self-treatment of illness is unwise — consult a clinician.