Turkey tail mushrooms are multicoloured fungi that mostly grow on fallen tree trunks in wooden areas. They grow abundantly in the forest regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. These mushrooms are available in various colours and have a disc-like shape. The overall appearance of a turkey tail may look like a turkey’s tail. Keep on reading to learn more about tail mushrooms:
Turkey tail, that is also known as Coriolus Veriscolr and Traetes Versicolor is used as a health supplement worldwide. Turkey oil extract is used as the traditional Chinese medicine treatment for respiratory conditions. One of the main things about turkey tail mushrooms is you can’t simply eat these like oyster and portobellos mushrooms. The woody and thick structure of mushrooms make them inedible to humans. Still, turkey mushrooms contain a number of beneficial compounds that make them worth consuming. Therefore, these mushrooms need specific ways to get prepared if you want to benefit from them.
In this post, we are going to discuss how you can use turkey tails for medicinal purposes. Additionally, you will also learn how to find & identify them and what are the benefits, and more!
Table of Contents
Where To Find Turkey Tail Mushrooms:
Turkey tail mushrooms are available year-round in wild regions. They are usually grown on the downed hardwood trunks or branches and dead hardwood stumps.
On the land, tail mushrooms seem to prefer decaying ironwood logs in wet places. When rotten and dead ironwood falls in the woods, you even get a wet spot that tends to accumulate a bit of standing water after rains.
How to Identify Tail Mushrooms:
Turkey tail mushrooms have many look-alikes but with close inspection, you will be able to identify the true turkey tail. Here are some signs to identify the organic turkey tail mushroom powder:
- Pores on the underside of tail mushrooms
- Pores are barely visible, very small around 3 to 8 pores per millimetre
- Fresh mushrooms are flexible and thin
- The surface of mushrooms is barely visible and slightly fuzzy
- Cap of the mushrooms has starkly contrasting colour zones
- Most cap colours are variable but often contain grey, white, reddish-brown, and brown.
Medical Benefits of Turkey Tail Mushrooms:
- Help to improve your immune responses against common illnesses and infections.
- They also improve cancer survival rates when you use them with a combination of traditional cancer treatment.
- It also aids to combat HPV when you used it along with Reishi Mushrooms Extract.
- Turkey tail mushrooms in Australia consist of antioxidants compounds that help your body adapt to oxidative stress and fight free radicals.
- It contains probiotic compounds which can improve your digestion and promote a healthy microbiome. In addition, these prebiotics promote healthy gut flora which can improve your immune function, reduce diarrhea, lower cholesterol, and along with many other benefits of healthy gut function.
Turkey Tail Mushrooms Side Effects & Potential Risk:
Anybody who is suffering from an allergy to mushrooms should not take a turkey tail. Taking turkey tail mushroom powder has the potential to cause a life-threatening allergic reaction and anaphylaxis in some people with an allergy to fungi. Some people who consume the turkey mushrooms as an extract and supplements also have side effects including heartburn, constipation, and nausea.
In Conclusion
From this post, you will get a complete guide about turkey tail mushrooms including what they are, how to identify them, where they grow, and health benefits. It is recommended to take mushroom supplements and extract with a doctor’s consultation.