Mushrooms, Spirulina & Ginkgo

Mushrooms, spirulina and ginkgo at Mycotrop

This category brings together three very different kinds of organism. Six of the eight products are fungi: reishi, chaga, lion’s mane and a powder made from seven mushroom species. One is spirulina, which biologists classify as a cyanobacterium rather than a plant. The last is ginkgo, the only accepted species of its family in Kew’s checklist. All eight are listed by the Dutch supplier Maya World Trading BV of Haarlem, and the pouches and bottles in the photos carry its Maya label. Like everything in the shop, they are sold strictly as collectible or souvenir items.

The eight products side by side

Reishi, chaga and lion’s mane: three fungi, three families

The Ganoderma lucidum named on the reishi pouch is an accepted species in the GBIF backbone, placed in the family Polyporaceae. Its English name there is lacquered bracket; the supplier also uses the Chinese name ling zhi. Chaga is Inonotus obliquus, a member of the Hymenochaetaceae. According to the supplier, the whole pieces and the powder are wild-harvested in Finland, the pieces in birch forests. Lion’s mane is Hericium erinaceus of the Hericiaceae, also called bearded tooth in English. The chaga and lion’s mane extracts come in 30 ml dark glass bottles.

What is in the seven-mushroom powder

The 7 Mushrooms Mix is one powder made from reishi, chaga, shiitake, maitake, lion’s mane, cordyceps and tremella. The supplier gives the botanical names Ganoderma lucidum, Inonotus obliquus, Lentinus edodes, Grifola frondosa, Hericium erinaceus, Cordyceps militaris and Tremella fuciformis. In the GBIF backbone, shiitake is now accepted as Lentinula edodes. Neither the label nor the supplier states the share of each species.

Spirulina and ginkgo

Spirulina is sold under the name Spirulina platensis. GBIF lists that name as a synonym of Arthrospira platensis, a cyanobacterium, the group often called blue-green algae. Its pouch is marked “Made in China”. The ginkgo powder is made from the leaf of Ginkgo biloba, the only accepted species of the family Ginkgoaceae in the World Checklist of Vascular Plants compiled by Kew. The checklist gives south-east China as the native range, and the Red List of Threatened Species classes the species as Endangered.

Related categories

Reishi, chaga, lion’s mane, maitake and cordyceps extracts and capsules by Foodsporen, Mushinto and McMyco are listed under Mushroom Tincture & Extract. A dry extract of Chinese ginkgo leaf and many other dried plant parts are in Smart Seeds & Herbs.

How your order is packed and sent

We prepare orders on business days and ship them in a plain outer box or envelope that does not name the contents. If the carrier provides tracking, the link reaches you by email once the parcel has left. Delivery times are estimates only; see Delivery, Tracking & Returns for details and for the 14-day withdrawal and its statutory exceptions.

Frequently asked questions

Which products in this category are mushrooms?

Six of the eight: the reishi powder, the chaga pieces, the chaga powder, the chaga extract, the lion’s mane extract and the 7 Mushrooms Mix. The spirulina and the ginkgo powder are not fungi.

Is spirulina a plant?

No. GBIF places Arthrospira platensis, the accepted name for the Spirulina platensis on the label, among the cyanobacteria in the kingdom Bacteria. The everyday name blue-green algae refers to this group.

Where does the chaga come from?

The supplier gives Finland for all three chaga products and states that the whole pieces and the powder are wild-harvested. The pouch of whole pieces in the photo is stamped “Made in Finland”.

Which sizes can I choose?

The whole chaga and the 7 Mushrooms Mix come in 50 g, 250 g or 1 kg. The reishi, chaga, spirulina and ginkgo powders are single 100 g pouches, and both extracts are 30 ml bottles.

In what proportions are the seven mushrooms mixed?

The proportions are not stated on the label or by the supplier, so we cannot give them. The pouch lists the seven species by name only.