Photo:

Characteristics:

• Shiitake mushrooms are small to medium in size with caps averaging 10-20 centimeters in diameter attached to thin stems. The caps range in color from light to dark brown, and have a wide, umbrella shape with a characteristic curled rim. Inside, the cream-colored flesh is firm, chewy, and spongy. Underneath the cap, the white gills are tightly arranged, are not attached to the stem, and depending on the maturity, there may also be a thin veil covering the gills. The ivory to light brown stem is smooth, tough, and fibrous. The spore print is white.
• When cooked, shiitake mushrooms release a garlic-pine aroma and have a savory, earthy, and smoky flavor.

Habitat:

• Shiitake grow in groups on the decaying wood of deciduous trees, particularly shii, chestnut, oak, maple, beech, sweetgum, poplar, hornbeam, ironwood, mulberry, and chinquapin. Its natural distribution includes warm and moist climates in southeast Asia.
• Shiitakes fruit in the spring and autumn.

Parts Used:

• The entire mushroom.

Collection and Harvesting:

• At full fruit stage, the shiitake has a cap that is maroon-brown and speckled with gem-like dots around the rim.
• Gently break the stems off the logs and place them in cardboard boxes or paper bags.
• Once picked, the mushrooms will only stay fresh for a couple of days during hot weather. With refrigeration, they can keep for two to three weeks.
• The mushrooms can be dried in a dehydrator or on screens in a greenhouse. Dry shiitakes reconstitute well.

Constituents:

• Shiitake mushrooms contain a number of biologically active compounds, including eritadenine (a blood cholesterol–lowering amino acid) and lentinan (a fungal β-glucan that can inhibit tumors via activation of the host's immune system).
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  Lentinan, a beta-glucan isolated from the shiitake mushroom

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  Eritadenine

Actions:

• Shiitake mushrooms have anticholesterol, anticancer, immunostimulant, antibiotic, antifungal, anticarcinogenic, antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral (interferon-inducing) properties.

Indications:

• Shiitake is used medicinally for diseases involving depressed immune function, including cancer, AIDS, environmental allergies, Candida infections, and frequent flu and colds. Shiitake is also beneficial for soothing bronchial inflammation and regulating urine incontinence, as well as for reducing chronic high cholesterol.
• Shiitake mushrooms are recommended to cancer and AIDS patients as an aid to the body's immune system, and they have been used in a supportive role to reduce cholesterol levels in patients with heart disease.
• Although shiitake mushrooms should not be used as a sole substitute for proper medical regimens or procedures, a growing consensus indicates that these mushrooms, in their capacity as immune-system boosters, can be used as supplemental aids to other treatments and can enhance a patient's well-being.

Combinations:

Preparation and Dosage:

• Flesh tough but certainly edible, eaten raw in salads or broiled, fried, oil-roasted, or in soup. Dried mushrooms may be used after soaking in warm water, or shredded up and added to soup stock. Cooked in gravies, omelettes, pastas, sauces and teas. Almost essential in some Japanese sushi and Kwantang-style Chinese dishes.
• 1-3 606 mg capsules up to 3x/day
• 1-3 g Lentinula edodes mycelium/day
• 6-16 g mushroom/day
• extract 2-3x/day
• 2-4 ml tincture/day

Contraindications:

• No contraindications known.
• Safety during pregnancy not established.
• High dosages may induce bloating and diarrhea.
• Possible allergenic.
• People who bleed easily or are taking blood-thinners should reconsider before taking shiitake or its water soluble fractions chronically.
• Analysis of L. edodes has shown that this species activates BACE1 which releases beta-amyloid peptide in the brain (associated with Alzheimer's).

Drug Interactions:

History and Origin:

• The shiitake is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed in many Asian countries. It is considered a medicinal mushroom in some forms of traditional medicine.
• It has been estimated that the origin of shiitake mushrooms can be traced to the cretaceous period, over one hundred million years ago. It is found growing wild in the mountainous regions of China, Japan, Indonesia, and Taiwan. The scattering of shiitake spores has been traced using typhoon wind patterns as the mushrooms were dispersed from one to the other of these countries. It is not found wild in the United States or elsewhere.

Ethnobotany:

Growing Information:

• Shiitake are now widely cultivated all over the world, and contribute about 25% of total yearly production of mushrooms.
• Commercially, shiitake mushrooms are typically grown in conditions similar to their natural environment on either artificial substrate or hardwood logs, such as oak.
• In the Port Neville region, shiitake mushrooms can been grown successfully in alder logs using mycelium plugs (see https://www.mushroomkit.ca/product/shiitake-mushroom-mycelium-plug-spawn-100-count-grow-edible-gourmet-medicinal-shitake-fungi-on-trees-logs/).
  • Drill holes, 40 to 50 per log, 5/16ths inch in diameter and 1-1/4 inches deep.
  • Pound in plug spawn.
  • Wax the plugs and ends of logs to prevent contamination by other fungi.
  • Stack the logs in a tree-shaded "rick".
  • Regular spray the logs with water so that they don't dry out.

Personal Impressions and Experiences:

Historical Botanical Illustrations: