Phellinus linteus (Sanghuang) forest-grown fruiting bodies
Forest-grown Sanghuang (Phellinus linteus-complex) bracket fungus fruiting bodies, marketed on the strength of a prized East Asian mushroom lineage — Northeast India provenance requires further verification.
| Origin | Flagged, not confidently corrected: modern taxonomy has split most commercially-traded 'Phellinus linteus'/Sanghuang into the genus Sanghuangporus, and no specific published mycological record of this species/complex growing wild in Nagaland or Meghalaya was found — Northeast-India-specific occurrence needs verification before public claims are made. |
| Indian subcontinent | Yes |
| Category | Fungi & Functional Mycology |
| Retail price band | No India-specific retail price found; comparable Korean/Chinese-origin Sanghuang (Phellinus linteus) dried herb and extract retails in the $16–$140 range for smaller packs on global trade platforms. |
| Bulk / trade price band | An India-based supplier (JKKB Natures Duo, GlobalTradePlaza) quotes Sanghuang mushroom powder at an estimated $16–$140 per unit for 100kg+ minimum order, but the platform does not confirm a fixed per-kg bulk rate — indicative only. |
| Sourcing status | Dossier researched from public sources — producer contact not yet established |
| Compliance status | Preliminary review complete (see below) — not yet legally verified |
Detailed study
The 'Phellinus linteus' historically used in Korean and Chinese medicine has been taxonomically revised: DNA-based work split the group into Sanghuangporus and related genera, so commercial 'Sanghuang' today is usually a related Sanghuangporus species rather than true P. linteus sensu stricto. The fungus is a parasitic/saprotrophic bracket fungus on mulberry and other hardwoods, prized for hispolon and polysaccharide content, and is slow-growing.
Provenance & producer
No specific cooperative, forest-collection group, or institutional structure for Sanghuang harvest in Nagaland or Meghalaya was found; this is a genuine research gap that should be closed with a named local supplier before the origin claim is used in customer-facing material.
Market & pricing
Global trade platforms (Alibaba, GlobalTradePlaza, Amazon) show wide price dispersion (roughly $16–$140 per retail-to-mid-bulk unit) reflecting both genuine grade variation and taxonomic confusion; no clean India-sourced kg benchmark was found.
Compliance & export
Fungi fall outside CITES. Phellinus linteus / Sanghuangporus spp. do not appear on India's Wildlife Protection Act schedules, but wild collection from Reserve/community forests in Nagaland and Meghalaya would still be subject to state forest-produce and community land-tenure rules.
Sources
- Global diversity and taxonomy of the Inonotus linteus complex (ResearchGate)
- Record of New Species of Phellinus in Maharashtra, India
- Phellinus linteus species page, India Biodiversity Portal
- Sanghuang Mushroom Powder, India-based supplier listing
Image status
A working reference photograph is in place, captured from a freely-licensed Wikimedia Commons source (File:Phellinus.pomaceus2.-.lindsey.jpg). No dedicated Phellinus linteus file found on Commons — closest genus-level match (Phellinus pomaceus); use only as placeholder, search again for true P. linteus/Sanghuangporus image before publishing. Treat this as a placeholder for marketing purposes: exact licence terms should be re-verified on the Commons file page, and original producer photography is recommended before final trade use.