Fu Shen

Wolfiporia cocos (synonym Poria cocos) is a wood-decay polypore fungus in the family Polyporaceae, distributed across temperate forests of East Asia and North America, where it parasitizes and saprophytically colonizes the roots of pines (Pinus spp.). The fungus forms large, irregularly subterranean sclerotia attached to or surrounding decayed pine roots; these sclerotia are dense, rounded to elongated masses 10-30 cm or more across, with a thin, wrinkled, dark-brown outer rind and a firm, white to pinkish, somewhat starchy interior. Above-ground basidiocarps are rarely seen, appearing as resupinate, pale, poroid crusts on infected wood. Fu Shen refers specifically to sclerotia harvested with the embedded pine root core intact, which is regarded as guiding the medicine to the heart.