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Edibility
Medicinal
Lookalike Danger
1 / 5
Habitat
🌲 Hemlock base
Season
Jun – Sep
"Varnished like lacquered wood. 2000 years in Chinese medicine. Too bitter to eat — brew as tea."
🌳 Host Trees & Plants
This species is found with or partners with the following hosts. Ectomycorrhizal hosts (green border) form a root-level partnership; ericoid / arbutoid shrubs (purple border) share the same mycorrhizal networks.
Hemlock
Tsuga spp.
Ectomycorrhizal
Reishi (G. tsugae), matsutake host.
Lacquered reddish-brown shelf fungus on hardwood (Ganoderma sessile/lucidum group) or hemlock (G. tsugae in the East). Too tough to eat — sliced and simmered for tea. Traditional Chinese medicine "mushroom of immortality"; triterpenes and polysaccharides under active clinical study.
Habitat
Base of living or dead hardwoods (eastern US), hemlock stumps (G. tsugae, PNW / Appalachians). Summer through fall.
Look for this on the ground
Hemlock mossy floor
Fine soft hemlock needles, deep green feather moss, tiny ovoid cones.
Season Windows by Region
Region
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Glacier / Flathead NF
MT · 3,500–8,500 ft
Bitterroot / Sapphire
MT · 3,500–9,000 ft
Helena / Big Belts
MT · 4,000–8,500 ft
Gallatin / Madison
MT · 5,500–10,500 ft
Beartooth / Absaroka
MT · 5,000–12,000 ft
Sawtooth / Stanley Basin
ID · 6,000–10,500 ft
White Mountains / Apache-Sitgreaves
AZ · 6,500–11,400 ft
Clear Creek Canyon / Mayhem Gulch
5,500–8,500 ft
Jones Pass Road
8,000–11,000 ft
Gordon Gulch / Nederland
7,000–9,000 ft
Kenosha Pass
8,000–10,500 ft
Guanella Pass Corridor
9,000–12,000 ft
Vasquez Creek / Winter Park
8,500–11,000 ft
Gunnison NF North — Crested Butte
8,500–12,000 ft
Gunnison NF South — Almont/Pitkin
8,000–11,000 ft
Cottonwood Pass
9,000–12,000 ft
San Juan NF — Pagosa Corridor
7,500–11,000 ft
Ruby Mountains
NV · 6,000–11,387 ft
Spring Mountains / Mt Charleston
NV · 6,000–11,916 ft
Jarbidge Wilderness
NV · 6,500–10,839 ft
San Juan NF — Silverton/Durango
8,000–12,000 ft
Grand Mesa
9,000–11,000 ft
Glenwood Canyon / White River NF
6,500–9,500 ft
Vail / Eagle County
8,000–11,000 ft
Steamboat / Routt NF
7,000–10,000 ft
Pike NF South / Tarryall
7,500–10,500 ft
Royal Gorge / Wet Mountains
6,500–9,500 ft
Leadville / Arkansas Headwaters
9,000–12,000 ft
Poudre Canyon / Roosevelt NF
6,500–10,000 ft
Rampart Range / Palmer Divide
7,000–9,500 ft
Clearwater Mountains
ID · 2,500–7,500 ft
Boise Mountains
ID · 4,000–9,500 ft
Salmon River / Lemhi
ID · 4,500–10,000 ft
Sun Valley / Wood River
ID · 5,500–10,500 ft
Bighorn Mountains
WY · 5,500–13,000 ft
Bridger-Teton / Tetons
WY · 6,000–13,500 ft
Wind River Range
WY · 7,000–13,800 ft
Absaroka / Shoshone NF
WY · 6,000–12,500 ft
North Cascades
WA · 1,500–8,000 ft
Central Cascades / Snoqualmie
WA · 1,500–7,000 ft
Olympic Peninsula
WA · 500–6,000 ft
Gifford Pinchot / South Cascades
WA · 1,000–8,000 ft
Okanogan Highlands
WA · 2,500–7,500 ft
Mt Hood / North Oregon Cascades
OR · 2,000–8,000 ft
Central Oregon / Deschutes
OR · 3,500–9,000 ft
South Cascades / Klamath
OR · 4,000–9,000 ft
Wallowa Mountains
OR · 3,500–9,500 ft
Blue Mountains
OR · 4,000–8,000 ft
Wasatch Mountains
UT · 5,500–11,500 ft
Uinta Mountains
UT · 7,000–13,500 ft
Manti-La Sal
UT · 6,000–12,700 ft
Sangre de Cristo / Carson NF
NM · 7,000–13,100 ft
Jemez / Santa Fe NF
NM · 6,500–11,200 ft
Santa Fe / Pecos Wilderness
NM · 7,000–12,600 ft
Gila NF / Black Range
NM · 5,500–10,800 ft
Coconino / Flagstaff
AZ · 6,500–10,000 ft
Kaibab Plateau / North Rim
AZ · 6,500–9,200 ft
Northern Sierra / Tahoe
CA · 5,000–9,000 ft
Central Sierra / Alpine
CA · 6,000–11,000 ft
South Sierra / El Dorado
CA · 5,000–9,500 ft
Northeast CA / Modoc-Lassen
CA · 4,500–8,500 ft
Snake Range / Great Basin
NV · 6,000–13,063 ft
Monongahela National Forest
WV · 1,500–4,863 ft
Allegheny National Forest
PA · 1,000–2,300 ft
Pocono Mountains
PA · 800–2,200 ft
Great Smoky Mountains
TN · 900–6,643 ft
Apalachicola National Forest
FL · 10–300 ft
Ocala National Forest
FL · 20–200 ft
Western Maine
ME · 400–4,170 ft
Northern Maine
ME · 500–5,267 ft
White Mountains
NH · 800–6,288 ft
Green Mountains
VT · 800–4,393 ft
Northeast Kingdom
VT · 600–3,300 ft
Black Hills NF
SD · 3,200–7,242 ft
Custer NF / Slim Buttes
SD · 3,000–4,000 ft
Pine Ridge / Oglala NG
NE · 3,400–5,000 ft
Ouachita NF (OK)
OK · 600–2,500 ft
Ouachita NF (AR)
AR · 600–2,700 ft
Superior NF / BWCA
MN · 1,300–2,301 ft
Chippewa NF
MN · 1,200–1,500 ft
Croatan NF
NC · 0–150 ft
Adirondacks
NY · 1,000–5,344 ft
Cherokee NF
TN · 1,000–6,285 ft
Blackwater / FL Panhandle
FL · 50–300 ft
MN North Shore / Sawtooth
MN · 600–2,301 ft
NJ Pine Barrens
NJ · 0–200 ft
Cape Cod National Seashore
MA · 0–306 ft
Mon NF South / Cranberry Wilderness
WV · 2,500–4,863 ft
Western NY / Allegany SP
NY · 1,500–2,300 ft
Pine Creek / North-Central PA
PA · 1,000–2,300 ft
Nebraska NF / Bessey (Sandhills)
NE · 2,500–3,200 ft
Mount Blue Sky / Echo Lake
9,000–11,700 ft
Growing Requirements
Min Soil Temp
55°F
Moisture Need
rain 0.5in 7d
Drought Tolerance
moderate
Elevation Range
0–13,800 ft
Look-Alikes
Species to rule out before picking. Each is tagged with its own edibility.
Ganoderma applanatum (Artist's Conk)
Not dangerousAlso medicinal. Duller brown, no lacquered surface; perennial (years old).
Fomitopsis pinicola (Red-Belted Conk)
Not dangerousInedible but used medicinally. No varnish.
Identification Tips
- ✓Glossy varnished surface = Ganoderma lucidum group
- ✓Slice when fresh; dry fully before storing
- ✓Simmer 30-60 min to extract triterpenes; add to broth or tincture
Field Notes
Hemlock base
Found Reishi?
Photograph it and log your observation on iNaturalist. The community can help confirm your ID — always get confirmation before eating.
Safety: Never eat any wild mushroom without 100% certain identification from multiple sources. This page is for informational purposes only. When in doubt, throw it out.