Destination Wild: Mushrooms in Qin Mountain

Our last field research trip finished finally on the last day of July. This trip was to study edible fungi in river valleys in Qin mountains. Our study was conducted in the Heihe National Forest Park, on the south edge of the Taibai Nature Reserve.

Like any other edible mushrooms, edible fungi in Qinling are of several species of macrofungi -fungi which bear fruiting structures that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. Edible fungi can appear either below ground (hypogeous) or above ground (epigeous) where they may be picked by hand. Edibility may be defined by criteria that include absence of poisonous effects on humans and desirable taste and aroma. 

The nature reserve which we visited has a typical Montane ecosystems which means As elevation increases, the climate becomes cooler. The change in climate by moving up 100 meters on a mountain is roughly equivalent to moving 80 kilometers towards the North Pole. The reserve has abundant edible fungi for study purpose.

Our study was focused how to cultivate species that have not  yet been successfully cultivated. Wild harvest is expensive and may bring significant impact to the natural environment. Scientists at Laybio has worked on domesticating certain types of edible mushrooms for over five years.  As a responsible company, Laybio is committed to control wild collections to minimize impact on natural environment unless absolutely necessary.

Laybio, founded in 2010, is a premium organic herbal extracts company that specializes in the manufacturing process and R&D. Our best-selling organic products are ganoderma lucidum extract, lion’s mane extract, amygdalin, phosphatidylserine, cranberry extract, hemp protein and pea protein.