Wolfiporia extensa

Wolfiporia extensa
Wolfiporia extensa sclerotium
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Polyporales
Family: Polyporaceae
Genus: Wolfiporia
Species:
W. extensa
Binomial name
Wolfiporia extensa
(Peck) Ginns (1984)
Synonyms
  • Pachyma cocos Fr. (1822)
  • Sclerotium cocos Schwein. (1822)
  • Daedalea extensa Peck (1891)
  • Poria cocos F.A.Wolf (1922)
  • Macrohyporia cocos (Schwein.) I.Johans. & Ryvarden (1979)
  • Macrohyporia extensa (Peck) Ginns & J.Lowe (1983)
  • Wolfiporia cocos (F.A.Wolf) Ryvarden & Gilb. (1984)

Wolfiporia extensa (syn. Poria cocos F.A.Wolf), commonly known as hoelen, poria, tuckahoe, China root, fu ling (茯苓, pīnyīn: fúlíng), or matsuhodo, is a fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It is a wood-decay fungus but has a subterranean growth habit. It is notable in the development of a large, long-lasting underground sclerotium that resembles a small coconut. This sclerotium, known as tuckahoe or fu-ling (Chinese: 茯苓; pinyin: fúlíng), is not the same as the true tuckahoe used as Indian bread by Native Americans, which is the arrow arum, Peltandra virginica, a flowering tuberous plant in the arum family.