''Wolfiporia extensa'' (Peck) Ginns ('' syn.'' ''Poria cocos'' F.A.Wolf) is a

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

in the family

Polyporaceae The Polyporaceae are a family of poroid fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota. The flesh of their fruit bodies varies from soft (as in the case of the dryad's saddle illustrated) to very tough. Most members of this family have their hymeniu ...

. It is a

wood-decay fungus A wood-decay or xylophagous fungus is any species of fungus that digests moist wood, causing it to rot. Some species of wood-decay fungi attack dead wood, such as brown rot, and some, such as ''Armillaria'' (honey fungus), are parasitic and col ...

but has a subterranean growth habit. It is notable in the development of a large, long-lasting underground

sclerotium A sclerotium (; (), is a compact mass of hardened fungal mycelium containing food reserves. One role of sclerotia is to survive environmental extremes. In some higher fungi such as ergot, sclerotia become detached and remain dormant until favo ...

that resembles a small coconut. This sclerotium called "(Chinese) Tuckahoe" or fu-ling (), is not the same as the true tuckahoe used as Indian bread by Native Americans, which is the arrow arum, ''

Peltandra virginica ''Peltandra virginica'' is a plant of the arum family known as green arrow arum and tuckahoe. It is widely distributed in wetlands in the eastern United States, as well as in Quebec, Ontario, and Cuba.Whigham, Dennis F., Robert L. Simpson and Ma ...

'', a flowering tuberous plant in the arum family. ''W. extensa'' is also used extensively as a

medicinal mushroom Medicinal fungi are fungi that contain metabolites or can be induced to produce metabolites through biotechnology to develop prescription drugs. Compounds successfully developed into drugs or under research include antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, ...

Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

. Indications for use in the traditional Chinese medicine include promoting

urination Urination, also known as micturition, is the release of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, ...

, to invigorate the spleen function (i.e., digestive function), and to calm the mind.Bensky D, Clavey S, Stoger E. (2004) Eastland Press, Inc. Seattle, 3rd ed. . p. 267

Names

Common names In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

include hoelen, poria, tuckahoe, China root, fu ling (,

pīnyīn Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: fúlíng), and matsuhodo.

Botanical extract

''Wolfiporia extensa'' is a source of a

triterpenoid Triterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of three terpene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of six isoprene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squal ...

compound,

pachymic acid Pachymic acid is a naturally occurring steroid that can be extracted from the parasitic fungus ''Wolfiporia extensa'' (synonym ''Wolfiporia cocos''). The dried sclerotia of the fungus is used as a traditional Chinese medicine, and pachymic acid i ...

, which has been the object of scientific study based upon the mushroom's role in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

. The species is often called ''cocos'' in this context.

References

External links

Hoelen (Poria)
by

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

, 2001 {{Taxonbar, from=Q3115198 Fungi described in 1891 Fungi of Asia Fungi of North America Medicinal fungi Polyporaceae Fungi used in traditional Chinese medicine Taxa named by Charles Horton Peck