Wolfiporia extensa

Wolfiporia extensa (Peck) Ginns (syn. Poria cocos F.A.Wolf) is a fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It is a wood-decay fungus but has a subterranean growth habit. It is notable in the development of a large, long-lasting underground sclerotium that resembles a small coconut. This sclerotium called "(Chinese) Tuckahoe" or fu-ling (Chinese: 茯苓; pinyin: fúlíng), is not the same as the true tuckahoe used as Indian bread by Native Americans, which is the arrow arum, Peltandra virginica, a flowering tuberous plant in the arum family. W. extensa is also used extensively as a medicinal mushroom in Chinese medicine.[2] Indications for use in the traditional Chinese medicine include promoting urination, to invigorate the spleen function (i.e., digestive function), and to calm the mind.[3]

Wolfiporia extensa
Wolfiporia extensa sclerotium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Fungi
Division:
Basidiomycota
Class:
Agaricomycetes
Order:
Polyporales
Family:
Polyporaceae
Genus:
Wolfiporia
Species:
W. extensa
Binomial name
Wolfiporia extensa
(Peck) Ginns (1984)
Synonyms[1]
  • Pachyma cocos Fr. (1822)
  • Sclerotium cocos Schwein. (1822)
  • Daedalea extensa Peck (1891)
  • Poria Edalat, cocos F.A.Wolf (1922)
  • Macrohyporia cocos (Schwein.) I.Johans. & Ryvarden (1979)
  • Macrohyporia extensa (Peck) Ginns & J.Lowe (1983)
  • Wolfiporia cocos (F.A.Wolf) Ryvarden & Gilb. (1984)

Names

Common names include hoelen, poria, tuckahoe, China root, fu ling (茯苓, pīnyīn: fúlíng), and matsuhodo.

Botanical extract

Wolfiporia extensa is a source of a triterpenoid compound, pachymic acid, which has been the object of scientific study based upon the mushroom's role in traditional Chinese medicine. The species is often called cocos in this context.[4]

References
  1. "GSD Species Synonymy: Wolfiporia extensa (Peck) Ginns". Species Fungorum. CAB International. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  2. Esteban CI. (2009). "Interés medicinal de Poria cocos (= Wolfiporia extensa)" [Medicinal interest of Poria cocos (= Wolfiporia extensa)]. Revista Iberoamericana de Micología (in Spanish). 26 (2): 103–7. doi:10.1016/S1130-1406(09)70019-1. hdl:10017/7998. PMID 19631158.
  3. Bensky D, Clavey S, Stoger E. (2004) Eastland Press, Inc. Seattle, 3rd ed. ISBN 0939616424. p. 267
  4. Cheng S, Swanson K, Eliaz I, McClintick JN, Sandusky GE, Sliva D (2015). "Pachymic acid inhibits growth and induces apoptosis of pancreatic cancer in vitro and in vivo by targeting ER stress". PLOS ONE. 10 (4): e0122270. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1022270C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0122270. PMC 4411097. PMID 25915041. open access
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