The shiitake (; ''Chinese/black mushroom'' or ''Lentinula edodes'') is a macrofungus native to

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

, which is cultivated and consumed around the globe.

Taxonomy

The fungus was first described scientifically as '' Agaricus edodes'' by Miles Joseph Berkeley in 1877. It was placed in the genus '' Lentinula'' by David Pegler in 1976. The fungus has acquired an extensive synonymy in its taxonomic history: *''Agaricus edodes'' Berk. (1878) *'' Armillaria edodes'' (Berk.) Sacc. (1887) *''Mastoleucomychelloes edodes'' (Berk.) Kuntze (1891) *''Cortinellus edodes'' (Berk.) S.Ito & S.Imai (1938) *'' Lentinus edodes'' (Berk.) Singer (1941) *'' Collybia shiitake'' J.Schröt. (1886) *'' Lepiota shiitake'' (J.Schröt.) Nobuj. Tanaka (1889) *''Cortinellus shiitake'' (J.Schröt.) Henn. (1899) *'' Tricholoma shiitake'' (J.Schröt.) Lloyd (1918) *''Lentinus shiitake'' (J.Schröt.) Singer (1936) *''Lentinus tonkinensis'' Pat. (1890) *''Lentinus mellianus'' Lohwag (1918) The mushroom's Japanese name is a compound word composed of , for the tree '' Castanopsis cuspidata'' that provides the dead logs on which it is typically cultivated, and . The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

' is the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word for "edible". It is also commonly called " sawtooth oak mushroom", "black forest mushroom", "black mushroom", " golden oak mushroom", or "oakwood mushroom".

Distribution and habitat

Shiitake grow in groups on the decaying wood of deciduous trees, particularly shii and other chinquapins,

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

, oak,

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

sweetgum ''Liquidambar'', commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, styrax or American storax, is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated as a part of ...

, poplar,

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

, ironwood, and

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinat ...

. Its natural distribution includes warm and moist climates in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Cultivation

The earliest written record of shiitake cultivation is seen in the ''Records of Longquan County'' () compiled by He Zhan () in 1209 during the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

in China. The 185-word description of shiitake cultivation from that literature was later cross-referenced many times and eventually adapted in a book by a Japanese horticulturist in 1796, the first book on shiitake cultivation in Japan. The Japanese cultivated the mushroom by cutting shii trees with axes and placing the logs by trees that were already growing shiitake or contained shiitake

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

s. Before 1982, the Japan Islands' variety of these mushrooms could only be grown in traditional locations using ancient methods. A 1982 report on the budding and growth of the Japanese variety revealed opportunities for commercial cultivation in the United States. Shiitake are widely cultivated worldwide, contributing about 25% of the total yearly production of mushrooms. Commercially, shiitake mushrooms are typically grown in conditions similar to their natural environment on either artificial substrate or hardwood logs, such as oak.

Toxicity

Rarely, consumption of raw or slightly cooked shiitake mushrooms may cause an

allergic reaction Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, are various conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include Allergic rhinitis, hay fever, Food allergy, food al ...

called "shiitake dermatitis", including an erythematous, micro- papular, streaky pruriginous

rash A rash is a change of the skin that affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cracke ...

that occurs all over the body including face and scalp, appearing about 24 hours after consumption, possibly worsening by

sun exposure Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include erythema, red or reddish sk ...

and disappearing after 3 to 21 days. This effect – presumably caused by the

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...

, lentinan – is more common in East Asia, but may be growing in occurrence in Europe as shiitake consumption increases. Thorough cooking may eliminate the allergenicity.

Uses

Fresh and dried shiitake have many uses in

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

Asia. In Chinese cuisine, they are used in many dishes, including soups, braises, and stir-fried vegetable dishes such as

Buddha's delight Buddha's delight, often transliterated as ''Luóhàn zhāi'' (, Japanese: ), ''lo han jai'', or ''lo hon jai'', is a vegetarian dish well known in Chinese and Buddhist cuisine. It is sometimes also called ''Luóhàn cài'' (). The dish is t ...

. In

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, they are served in miso soup, used as the basis for a kind of

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

dashi is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as umami. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour b ...

'', and as an ingredient in many steamed and simmered dishes. Two prized varieties are produced in cooler temperatures. One high-grade variety is called ' () (literally "winter mushroom") in Chinese, or in Japanese. The most highly prized variety is called ' () (literally "flower mushroom") in Chinese, due to the flower-like pattern of cracks in the cap.

Nutrition

In a reference serving, raw shiitake mushrooms provide of

food energy Food energy is chemical energy that animals and humans derive from food to sustain their metabolism and muscular activity. Most animals derive most of their energy from aerobic respiration, namely combining the carbohydrates, fats, and protein ...

and are 90% water, 7%

carbohydrates A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ma ...

, 2%

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

and less than 1%

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

. Raw shiitake mushrooms contain moderate levels of some

dietary minerals In the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element. Some "minerals" are essential for life, but most are not. ''Minerals'' are one of the four groups of essential nutrients; the others are vitamins, essential fatty acids, and essen ...

. Like all mushrooms, shiitakes produce vitamin D2 upon exposure of their internal

ergosterol Ergosterol (ergosta-5,7,22-trien-3β-ol) is a mycosterol found in cell membranes of fungi and protozoa, serving many of the same functions that cholesterol serves in animal cells. Because many fungi and protozoa cannot survive without ergostero ...

to ultraviolet B (UVB) rays from sunlight or broadband UVB fluorescent tubes.

Gallery

File:Shiitake mushroom in Vegetable store in Yuen Long.jpg, Fresh shiitake mushroom in the vegetable market in Hong Kong File:Wild Shiitake-Mushroom Japan.JPG, Shiitake growing wild in

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

File:Pyogobokkeum.jpg, Korean ''pyogo- bokkeum'' (stir-fried shiitake mushroom) File:Shiitake Meshi Ekiben.JPG, Japanese ekiben File:Shiitake timelapse.webm, Timelapse video of shiitake growth File:Lentinan.svg, Lentinan, a beta-glucan isolated from the shiitake mushroom File:Shitake Mushroom.jpg, Young shiitake mushrooms on a log

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q320999 Articles containing video clips Chinese edible mushrooms Edible fungi Fungi in cultivation Fungi of Asia Japanese cuisine terms Marasmiaceae Medicinal fungi