Fu Ling

Fu Ling written in Chinese

Pinyin Name: Fu Ling

English Name: Sclerotium Poriae Cocos

Other Names: Yun Ling, Poria, Poria Cocos Fungus

Tastes: Bland, Lightly Sweet

Origin: Hubei, Anhui, Henan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan provinces in China

Benefits of Fu Ling:

Fu Ling is a famous Chinese herb, which has been traditionally used in Chinese medicine. Fu Ling comes from the poria fungus. The common form of poria fungus is its sclerotium, most of which are in the shape of irregular chunk, sphere, compressiform, oblong, or oval. They are in different sizes, usually less than 10 cm in the smaller ones and 20 cm to 30 cm or even larger in bigger ones. Skin is grayish brown or dark brown, in the shape of shrinking tumor, white with slightly pin inside, and composed of numerous hyphae. Fruiting body looks like mushroom, 0.5 to 2mm in diameter. It has a special odor.

Fu Ling covers meridians of heart, lung, spleen and kidney. Main functions are percolating dampness and disinhibiting water, strengthening the spleen and stomach, tranquilizing heart and soothe the nerves. Recommended dosage is from 10 to 15 grams.

Fu Ling is widely used in Chinese herbal formulas. 1) Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan is formulated for women’s abdominal masses, blood stasis-induced amenorrhea, menstrual pain, postpartum lochia and more. Its ingredient herbs include Fu Ling, Gui Zhi, Mu Dan Pi, Chi Shao and Tao Ren. 2) Gui Pi Tang is used for heart-spleen deficiency and deficiency of qi and blood induced palpitations, insomnia and forgetfulness. Its ingredient herbs include Fu Ling, Huang Qi, Dang Gui and Yuan Zhi. 3) Ling Gui Zhu Gan Tang is used for dizziness and palpitations due to phlegm. Its ingredient herbs include Fu Ling, Gui Zhi, Bai Zhu and Gan Cao.

Common herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine

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