Poria with pine hostwood
The dried sclerotium of the poria fungus (Poria cocos) cut from where it grew clasping a pine root, so each ivory slice holds a core of pine wood. Nearly tasteless and lightly starchy in the pot, it is chosen over plain poria when the soup is aimed at settling sleep, as in lotus seed, lily bulb and lean pork soup.
TCM properties
Nature · neutral Flavour · sweet、bland Meridians · heart、spleen
Traditional food therapy
In Cantonese food therapy fu shen is used to calm the spirit and quiet the heart while gently promoting water flow, the traditional pick for bedtime-oriented soups.
Cautions: read first
- The classical texts say to use it with caution where there is kidney depletion with difficulty passing water, or cold depletion with seminal leakage.
Preparation
A rinse is all it needs.
Origin · Geo-authentic (道地) source
Yunnan is the geo-authentic (道地) source, which is where the name yun ling (雲苓) comes from; the Dabie Mountains of Anhui are now the main producing area. A herbal-dispensary item; some shops stock plain poria (茯苓) but not poria with hostwood (茯神)
Availability in Australia
Herbal shops / specialists
