Chi Fu Ling

Chi Fu Ling is the dried reddish outer layer of the sclerotium of Wolfiporia cocos (formerly Poria cocos), a wood-decay polypore fungus in the Polyporaceae family that grows in association with the roots of conifers, especially pines, across East Asia and North America. The sclerotium is a compact subterranean fungal storage body, irregularly globose to oblong, 10-30 cm or more across, with a thin wrinkled dark brown to reddish-brown rind and a dense white to pale pink interior. In trade the sclerotium is cut into several products: the central pine-root-bearing piece is Fu Shen, the white interior tissue is the well-known Fu Ling, and the reddish layer immediately beneath the outer rind is Chi Fu Ling, harvested as thin reddish-brown irregular slabs or wedges with a slightly granular texture.