Page 269 - Lost Book Remedies

The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies

proof alcohol (40 to 50 % alcohol), and 16 ounces
Mushrooms (500ml) of distilled water.
1. Fill a quart-sized (32 oz – 900g) canning jar
half-full with diced dried mushrooms, then fill it to
and Lichens ½ inch (1.25cm) of the top with alcohol. Stir and
cap it, shaking it every few days for 2 months. Then
strain out the alcohol and set it aside to keep.
2. Make the decoction. Put 16 ounces (0.5L) of wa-
A note on extracting mushrooms and li- ter into a ceramic or glass pot with a lid and put the
chens: mushrooms into it. Cover and simmer the mixture
Many lichens and mushrooms need to be dou- on low until half of the water has simmered off.
This will take a few hours. If the water level drops
ble/dual-extracted both in water and in alcohol in too quickly, add more so that you can continue sim-
order to access all of the necessary medicinal com- mering your mushrooms. The end result should be
pounds. For example, in Reishi (Ganoderma lu- 8 ounces (250ml) of your decoction. Do not boil.
cidum), the main components with pharmacologi- 3. Allow the water to cool, and then strain out the
cal activity are polysaccharides and triterpenoids. mushrooms, pressing them to remove all of the liq-
The polysaccharides (including beta-glucans) ex- uid. Mix this water (8 oz –250 ml) and the alcoholic
tract in water while the triterpenoids, like ganoderic tincture you have set aside (you should have about
acid, extract in alcohol. Below is a recipe for a dou- 24 oz – 0.75L of alcohol tincture) together to create
ble-extraction.
the finished double-extraction. It has a high enough
Double/Dual Extraction Method: alcohol content (30%) that it should be shelf-stable
Feel free to scale down this recipe for at-home use. for many years, as long as it is stored in a sealed
You’ll need: 8 ounces (225g) or more of dried container. The ratio of the alcoholic tincture to the
mushroom or lichen, 24 ounces (650g) of 80 to 100 decoction is 3:1.

Chaga Mushroom,

Inonotus obliquus
gold-orange, and woody. The gold-orange interior is
Chaga mushroom, also known as cancer polypore and sometimes visible where the mushroom attaches to the
tinder conk, grows on live birch trees in temperate tree. It feels like cork when freshly cut.
zones throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It looks
like charcoal bursting from the tree. It grows in the
form of a woody conk.

The fungus grows slowly; only harvest from large
growths and leave plenty on the tree.

It is a valuable mushroom for use in treating cancer
and for immune system problems. It is also an excel-
lent firestarter.

Identification: Chaga grows almost exclusively on
live birch trees. Tree burls are often mistaken for chaga
mushrooms. The burl is an outgrowth of the tree, while
the chaga mushroom grows inside the tree then bursts
forth from it.
There is a distinct difference between the mushroom
and the tree. The outside surface of the fungus is black,
brittle, and has a cracked appearance. The interior is

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