Some medicine comes for free. Recently I could try the birch polypore mushroom with very interesting results.

source: wikimedia.org

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Last weekend I went collecting mushrooms with @yoganarchista. Luckily we could pick a mushroom called piptoporus betulinus. It's growing on dying or death birch trees. Last year we allready found one, but this time we wanted to try it out.

The birch polypore has an interesting story. Actually it is one of the oldest medicine known to human. When the 5000 year old mummy of Ötzi was found in Tyrol, there was another discovery. He carried a piece of the mushroom around his neck. Why could it be? After an examination of Ötzis dead body, it was clear, that he had an intestinal parasite, the whipworm. This mushroom helps to get rid of this whipworm.

A picture of Ötzis medicine. source: kinderzeitmaschine.de

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What is the birch polypore used for?

The birch polypore is:

immune tonic
anti-inflammatory
anti-tumour
anti-parasitic
anti-septic
anti-viral
anti-bacterial
styptic

It can be used for a lot of cases. Oral, but also on the skin as a plaster.

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How to consume?

I recommend cutting the mushroom after picking into small pieces. Then they will dry and get hard as stone. Those pieces you can brew in a tea. Put 1-2 pieces into boiling water for like 30 minutes and then drink the water. The good thing is, you can reuse the pieces a few times.

source: passion-pilze-sammeln.com

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What are my own experiences?

It really helps with the digestive system. After eating heavy food, every problem just disapears. The mushroom gives a nice and warm feeling.
But there is another thing, which I couldn't find anywhere as a skill of the mushroom. When I drink a tea before sleep, I get very tired afterwards and end up having a very deep and relaxing sleep with way more intense dreams then normal. I don't know how this can happen, but I really like this effect.