The simplest way to identify the authenticity of Poria cocos is as follows:

The taste of real Poria cocos should be light and faintly sweet. The fake Poria cocos tastes more obviously sweet. The appearance of real Poria appears to be that its cross-section is more delicate and there will be no thick fibers; while if you look closely at the fake Poria, you can see that its surface color is slightly uneven, with occasional mildew spots and a weak smell.

After adding diluted iodine solution to the real Poria cocos, there will be no obvious change; however, the fake Poria cocos will turn light blue or blue-black after adding diluted iodine solution to it.

Introduction to Poria

Poria, a fungus belonging to the order Poria, is also known as Yuling, Poria, Wanlinggui, and Poria. It is the dried sclerotium of Poria cocos, a fungus in the family Pseudoporaceae. It is often parasitic on the roots of pine trees. It is shaped like a sweet potato, spherical, with a light brown or dark brown outer skin and a pink or white interior. It is called white Poria cocos or Yunling after refinement.

Poria cocos is spherical, oblate or irregular in shape, varying in size and weighing from two to more than ten kilograms. The surface is dark brown or tan, the skin is thin and rough, with obvious raised wrinkles, and is often covered with soil.

Weight, hard, not easy to break; the cross-section is uneven, granular or powdery, the outer layer is light brown or light red, the inner layer is all white, a few are light brown, fine, and visible Fissures or brown pine roots are inlaid with white velvety pieces in the middle. It has no odor and sticks to your teeth when chewed. The white poria cocos has been cut into thin slices or cubes, and is white in color, delicate in color, and has a pinkish texture. The texture is crispy, easy to break and broken, and sometimes the edges are yellow-brown.