Tai Bai Wood Ear

Tai Bai Wood Ear

　　Also known as black fungus or glossy fungus. In fungal taxonomy, it belongs to the class Basidiomycetes, order Auriculariales, and family Auriculariaceae. It is distributed in the Northeast, Hubei, Zhejiang, and Yunnan—regions that are major production areas of wood ear in China. It grows on decaying wood of more than 120 broadleaf tree species such as oak, poplar, banyan, and locust tree, either singly or in clusters. Currently, it is mainly cultivated on oak logs and in bag culture.

The fruiting body of the wood ear is gelatinous in texture, forming disc-shaped, ear-shaped, or irregular forms, with a diameter of 3–12 centimeters. When fresh, it is soft, but becomes horny when dried. It has a delicate texture and unique flavor, and is a highly nutritious and well-known edible fungus. It contains carbohydrates, 10.6 grams of protein, 0.2 grams of fat, 306 joules of calories, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. It has benefits such as boosting energy, relieving hunger, promoting lightness and mental acuity, stopping bleeding and alleviating pain, enriching blood, and invigorating circulation. Rich in polysaccharide colloids, it offers good cleansing properties, making it an important health food for miners and textile workers. It also has certain anti-cancer properties and functions in treating cardiovascular diseases.