Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum): Traditional Uses & Safety

At a glance

Botanical name: Ganoderma lucidum
Family: Ganodermataceae
Part used: Fruiting Body
Taste: Bitter, Sweet
Temperature: Warm
Moisture: Neutral

On temperature, Shennong Bencao Jing (c. 200 CE) reads it as neutral. The app keeps warm, the modern reading of what the herb does in the body; the old readings are shown here but do not change it.

Taught in Eden's Table

Seedlings (grades 3-5), Week 6

Our homeschool curriculum, one plant a week. Week 1 is free.

Safety at a glance

In pregnancy

Insufficient data; caution

While breastfeeding

Insufficient data; avoid during breastfeeding as precaution.

For children

Limited data; generally safe as food amounts

Cautions

Anticoagulant caution; avoid pre-surgery (1-2 weeks); rare allergic reactions

General contraindications

Insufficient data; caution

Stewardship

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) is cultivated globally; log-grown highest quality. Stewardship: the 'mushroom of immortality' — the longevity claims of ancient texts must be held with critical distance while honoring the tradition.

In the traditional record

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) — known in Traditional Chinese Medicine as Ling Zhi ("spirit mushroom") and classified in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing among the highest-grade tonic herbs; reserved historically for emperors, with Daoist tradition associating it with longevity and the cultivation of the Shen.

Which herbs suit your body?

The same herb can calm one person and wire another. Our free assessment reads your pattern across temperature, moisture and tone, then matches herbs to it.

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Educational use

The Apothecary is educational and does not constitute medical advice. Nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a diagnosed condition.

On our sources

These entries draw on public-domain materia medica, most of it published before 1900, alongside a smaller number of modern reference works. Energetic qualities such as warming, cooling, drying and moistening are a traditional framework for describing how a plant behaves in the body, not a laboratory measurement. Where a period source states one, we cite it. Where none does, and for many North American herbs none exists, the value reflects modern herbal consensus rather than a historical text. When we cannot support a caution with real evidence, we say nothing rather than guess.