Wolfiporia extensa | |
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Wolfiporia extensa sclerotium | |
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Species: | W. extensa
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Binomial name | |
Wolfiporia extensa | |
Synonyms[1] | |
Wolfiporia extensa (syn. Poria cocos F.A.Wolf), commonly known as hoelen, poria, tuckahoe, China root, fu ling (茯苓, pīnyīn: fúlíng), or matsuhodo, 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, known as Tuckahoe or fu-ling (Chinese: 茯苓; pinyin: fúlíng), 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.