Birch Polypore - The Medicinal Mushroom Of Ötzi
Some medicine comes for free. Recently I could try the birch polypore mushroom with very interesting results.
source: wikimedia.org
Last weekend I went collecting mushrooms with @yoganarchista. Luckily we could pick a mushroom called piptoporus betulinus. It's growing on dying or death birch trees. Last year we allready found one, but this time we wanted to try it out.
The birch polypore has an interesting story. Actually it is one of the oldest medicine known to human. When the 5000 year old mummy of Ötzi was found in Tyrol, there was another discovery. He carried a piece of the mushroom around his neck. Why could it be? After an examination of Ötzis dead body, it was clear, that he had an intestinal parasite, the whipworm. This mushroom helps to get rid of this whipworm.
A picture of Ötzis medicine. source: kinderzeitmaschine.de
What is the birch polypore used for?
The birch polypore is:
immune tonic
anti-inflammatory
anti-tumour
anti-parasitic
anti-septic
anti-viral
anti-bacterial
styptic
It can be used for a lot of cases. Oral, but also on the skin as a plaster.
How to consume?
I recommend cutting the mushroom after picking into small pieces. Then they will dry and get hard as stone. Those pieces you can brew in a tea. Put 1-2 pieces into boiling water for like 30 minutes and then drink the water. The good thing is, you can reuse the pieces a few times.
source: passion-pilze-sammeln.com
What are my own experiences?
It really helps with the digestive system. After eating heavy food, every problem just disapears. The mushroom gives a nice and warm feeling.
But there is another thing, which I couldn't find anywhere as a skill of the mushroom. When I drink a tea before sleep, I get very tired afterwards and end up having a very deep and relaxing sleep with way more intense dreams then normal. I don't know how this can happen, but I really like this effect.
Nice one!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks!
Informative. Have you tried your receipt?
Yes, three times allready. :)
We should try then
Interesting mushroom experience.
Thanks for sharing.
Resteemed :-)
Thank you! They are quite common around Berlin :)
Magnificent mushrooms. Never seen such before
Depends if you have birch trees in your area. If so, they are easy to find :)
Amazing, how can it work as a digestive aid?
The active ingridients are
polyporic acids A and C
hydroquinone
indoalcaloids
I saw a lot of these mashrooms in the forest. Next time i will pick them up))) thanks for sharing this recipe)
Have fun at the silent hunting :)
Thanks))) i love it :))
Can we preserve these pieces for few days?for how long?
As they quickly dry out and become like stones, you can keep them at least for a year. Just try to keep them dark, as too much light (especially direct sunlight) can destroy the ingridients :)
Thanks for the information dear friend