Reishi Mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) is a type of fungus in the Ganodermataceae family native to tropical and temperate regions of Asia, as well as in the northern Eastern Hemlock forests of North America. A powerful plant in traditional Chinese medicine, Reishi is known for its therapeutic properties and tonifying effects.

Reishi mushroom is known as "lingzhi" in Chinese, which translates to "mushroom of immortality," "divine mushroom," or "magic fungus." And it is magical - since it was first discovered by Chinese healers more than 2000 years ago in the temperate forest at the base of the Changbai Mountains, it's been prized for its medicinal properties, as well as for being a token of good luck.

The plant was first featured in the Herbal Classic of Shen Nong, a book from several millennia ago detailing the benefits of various botanicals. In it, the Reishi mushroom is listed for its ability to strengthen cardiac function, enhance vital energy, increase memory capability, and promote anti-aging effects.

In modern-day Japan, Reishi is even listed as a cancer treatment due to its propensity to heal. It wasn't always so readily available though. In the wild, Reishi mushrooms grow at the base and stumps of deciduous trees like the maple. Only two or three out of 10,000 such trees will have Reishi growth, making it a rather rare commodity. For that reason, for much of its history only the nobility could afford to use the plant.

It was long believed in Chinese mythology that the fungus grew in the homes of the immortals on P'eng-lai, or the Isles of the Blessed, off the coast of China. It remained an exclusive, expensive ingredient, believed to hail from far flung mythical lands until somewhat recently. It wasn't until the 1980s, when a Japanese man by the name of Shigeaki Mori developed an effective method of cultivating Reishi mushrooms on hardwood logs or wood chips, that the shroom became far more available and affordable.

Here at AMASS, we use the botanical in our Dry Gin, where it lends umami notes and earthy undertones to ground light and bright lemon, grapefruit, and lime leaf.