Schizophyllum commune - medicinal mushroom with anti-cancer properties (schizophylan)  

    Schizophyllum commune - The cap of the fungus can reach a diameter of up to 40 mm. The color of the hat is most often gray-white with shades of pink and beige. In a few cases it becomes olive green. The fungus does not have a shaped foot, it grows laterally to the substrate. It has the shape of a shell or a fan. The surface of the hat is felt, wavy or furrowed.  

    Lamellae - the fungus belongs to the lamellar family, which are longitudinally split, fan-shaped; The color is usually pink, fleshy. During drought, in order not to lose moisture and to protect the spores, the fungus curls inside.  

    Flesh is ocher, thin in color. Elastic and swollen in the rainy season, and becomes gel-like, hard and brittle in drought. Indefinite, slightly sour taste and smell.  

    Occurrence: The fungus grows all year round, mainly on dead trunks and branches of deciduous and sometimes coniferous trees all over the world.  

    Value: in Europe, the mushroom is not harvested, but it is not poisonous. It is eaten in China, many countries in Africa and Asia, and Central America. The mushroom contains a substance called schizophylan which has immunostimulatory and anti-cancer properties.