Wolfiporia hoelen

Fu Ling, Poria, Hoelen

Wolfiporia hoelen (Fr.) Y.C. Dai & V. Papp (basionym Pachyma hoelen Fr.) is the Fu Ling medicinal mushroom of East Asia, long sold under the misapplied names Wolfiporia cocos or Poria cocos (and in some literature W. extensa). It forms large, coconut-like underground sclerotia, up to tens of centimeters across, attached to the roots of dead or dying pines. The sclerotium, white inside with a dark, wrinkled rind, is the part used medicinally. A nomenclatural review (Papp & Dai 2022) recommends W. hoelen (or Pachyma hoelen) for the Asian medicinal fungus and treats the North American 'tuckahoe' (W. cocos sensu stricto) as a separate species.