Wolfiporia extensa

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 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)

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, 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]

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. 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. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0122270. PMC 4411097Freely accessible. PMID 25915041.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.