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Red Belted Mushroom: A Powerful Ally

The Red Belted mushroom or Fomitopsis pinicola is one of the most common medicinal mushrooms that can be found from North America, Alaska to California.

The information below was used in one of my presentations on Introductory to Medicinal Mushrooms at the University of Saskatchewan where we reviewed many other medicinal mushrooms in the lecture.

This is a short monograph provided for your information. If you are considering using medicinal mushrooms in your health regimen I suggest working with your Naturopathic Doctor, especially for any specific health concerns.

Here is a short monograph of this wonderful mushroom. Keep in mind that even though this mushroom is named after the red belt around it's edge, it doesn't always have that red belt! Make sure you are identifying your mushrooms correctly. Practice, practice, practice!

Spore Print: White to pale yellowish

Harvest: Year round

Range: Northern North America, Alaska to California

Fruiting Body:

White to pale yellow when young, knoblike
Brown with reddish near margin, mature
Color varies
Shelf-like to hoof shaped
Fleshy, hard and dense
Underside is white to yellowish

Habitat: Stumps, trunks, logs of dead coniferous trees

Preparation: Thinly slice or breaks small pieces when fresh then dry

Decoction
Tincture
Dual extraction

Grows on more than 100 host species

Pinicola means “inhabiting pine”, its most common home

It is the most common polypore but some sites have it listed for $310/pound for dried tea!

Traditional Use:

The Cree used it to stop bleeding and as a powerful emetic
The Blackfoots used it to move fire and as a purgative
The Northern Dene smoked it with tobacco to keep it burning and to relieve headaches
The Iroquois used it to flavor their soups, for nutrition and natural preservative

Medicinal Uses:

Anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, immuno-modulating, anti-pathogenic, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, adaptogenic
30 mg/day shows a prevention rate of 51.2% against sarcoma & cancer cells
Daily dose as a tonic is used as an effective anti-inflammatory
Rheumatoid arthritis
Crohn's disease
Has been shown to regulate blood sugar
Persistent or intermittent fevers
Chronic diarrhea
Periodic neuralgia
Nervous headaches
Excessive urination
Jaundice

Cautions

Mushroom poisoning and/or allergic reactions can occur.
DO NOT EAT any mushrooms you are not absolutely sure is not poison!
Identify correctly, this can be tricky!
If you aren’t sure DO NOT EAT IT!
DO NOT assume a mushroom is ok to eat because you’ve seen wildlife eating it. Deer seek out the Amanita family
Our metabolisms are different
As little as 50 grams (1.7 oz) of the death cap Amanita phalloides can kill an adult
It can take 6-24 hours for the symptoms of mushroom poisoning to show, by which time it’s too late
Saskatchewan Poison Center 1-866-454-1212