Browse Mushrooms

East Asian Mushrooms

East Asia gave the world some of its most important cultivated mushrooms. Here fungi are as much a kitchen and farming tradition as a foraging one.

Dried caterpillar fungus specimens, each a pale tan caterpillar body with a dark club growing from the head

Cordyceps

Ophiocordyceps sinensis

Cordyceps is a fungus that kills a caterpillar and grows a club out of its head, and it is one of the most…

Medicinal
Varnished reishi bracket with concentric red brown bands and a pale growing margin on hardwood

Reishi

Ganoderma sichuanense

Reishi is a varnished hardwood bracket that is famous as a medicine and useless as food. The practical facts…

Medicinal
Fresh shiitake mushrooms with brown caps and white gills

Shiitake

Lentinula edodes

Shiitake is a cultivated hardwood mushroom with a deep savory flavor. The practical rule is simple: cook…

Edible

A cultivation heartland

Shiitake has been grown on logs in China and Japan for centuries, long before modern mushroom farming. That heritage shaped how the world grows gourmet mushrooms today.

Food and function

Many species prized in East Asian cooking, from shiitake to enoki, are also central to the interest in functional mushrooms.

Note

Traditional use is not the same as medical proof. Talk to a clinician before using any mushroom to treat a condition.

For the grower

The log and sawdust methods that trace back to this region are exactly the ones a home grower uses now.

Frequently Asked Questions

What mushrooms come from East Asia?
The region is a cultivation heartland, best known for shiitake, which has been grown on logs for centuries, along with species like enoki that are central to its cuisine.
How long has shiitake been cultivated?
For many centuries in China and Japan, long before modern mushroom farming. The log-growing methods developed there still shape how gourmet mushrooms are grown today.

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