Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor), the Latin name is Trametes versicolor, which means thin (trametes) and many colored (versicolor). In Chinese medicine it is referred to as yun zhi, and the Japanese name is kawaratake.
The turkey tail is a polypore mushroom, meaning they release spores through many small holes underneath their caps. Many medicinal mushrooms are polypores. Like so many polypores, these mushrooms are also bracket fungi. They produce fruiting bodies that are shaped like shelves or brackets. These brackets are grouped closely together either horizontally or one on top of another. They are saprotrophs, which means they feed on decaying matter of other living things. This is why you always find them on old, rotting logs. To spot a turkey tail, it's best to look down. You'll usually find them on decaying hardwood or at the base of trees. For other identifying characteristics, know that they have no stem, groups of thin caps with concentric zones of varying colors, and a spore print that ranges from whitish to yellowish. They're found in forests all over the world from Europe to Asia to the US and Russia.
Benefits of Turkey tail mushrooms (Tinctura trametes)
The ubiquitous turkey tail is not a gourmet mushroom. You won't see them on a five star menu sauteed with wild leeks. This species has one main claim to fame: as a medicinal mushroom. And a powerful one at that. It's full of a protein-bound molecule known as PSK, or polysaccharide K. A polysaccharide is simply a complex carbohydrate that is made up of a repeating chain of simple sugars, but many polysaccharides (including PSK) have been shown to boost the immune system to fight infection and many different types of cancers. PSK works by suppressing the growth of tumor cells, inhibiting the expression of genes that have the potential to cause cancer, and stimulating the immune system to produce more of the body's own cells that attack foreign cells. Yet this mushroom contains more benefits than Coriolus versicolor PSK. The various constituents work together to reportedly:
Reduce the growth of tumors and prevent new ones
Lessen the side effects of chemotherapy
Reduce inflammation throughout the body
Fight viral infections and diseases such as herpes and hepatitis
Increase stamina and energy
Studies into this medicinal mushroom are ongoing, including a $5.4 million prostate cancer study done through Bastyr University and the NIH (National Institute of Health).The evidence for the positive benefit of Trametes versicolor on personal health is definitely there. It will be interesting to see what more we can learn in the near future!
