What is Mu Er?
Mu Er is the name of
traditional Chinese medicine. It is the fruiting body of the fungus
Auricularia auricular (L.) Underw. in the family
Mucoraceae. It is distributed in other places. It has the effects of nourishing qi and blood, moistening the lung, stopping bleeding, lowering blood pressure, and fighting cancer. Commonly used for deficiency of qi and blood, tetany, lung deficiency, cough, hemoptysis, vomiting, epistaxis, dysentery, hemorrhoid bleeding, women's collapse, hypertension, constipation, fundus bleeding, cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, and bruises.

Morphological characteristics of Mu Er
Mu Er mycelium is composed of colorless, transparent, tubular mycelium with transverse septa and branches. The mycelium absorbs nutrients in the substrate and forms fan-shaped mycelium bodies under the bark.
Muer substrates are thin, elastic, gelatinous, translucent, concave in the middle, often auriculate or annular, and tapering to leaf-like. The base is narrowed into an auricle with a smooth surface or with vein-like wrinkles, generally 4 cm to 10 cm in diameter, with larger ones up to 12 cm or more. After drying, it shrinks strongly and the upper surface of the cotyledon layer turns dark brown to nearly black, while the lower surface is dark gray-brown and covered with very short tomentum.
Growth habit of Mu Er
Mu Er is parasitic on shady, decaying tree trunks and grows on the decaying wood of more than 120 broad-leaved trees such as oak, poplar, ficus, and acacia; vigorous ginkgo trees can also grow. Artificial cultivation is dominated by linden wood's and bag material, artificial cultivation is based on linden wood and bag, and more growth in moist areas.
Geographical distribution of Mu Er
China is the main producer of Mu Er, with production areas mainly in Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hubei, Shaanxi and Zhejiang, among which Hailin City and Dongning City in the Mudanjiang region of Heilongjiang Province (promoted to the national Mu Er wholesale market in December 2012) and Huang Songdian Town in Jiaohe County of Jilin Province is the largest bases of Mu Er in China. There are nine species in China, with Heilongjiang having all eight existing species, Yunnan having seven existing species and Henan Lushi County having one. Wild black fungus is mainly distributed in the large and small Xinganling forest area, Qinba Mountain Range, Fuyu Mountain Range, and Huanren, Liaoning. Fann County, Suizhou in Hubei, Qingchuan in Sichuan, Wenshan, Honghe, Baoshan, Dehong, Lijiang, Dali, Xishuangbanna and Qujing in Yunnan and Lushi County in Henan Province are the production areas of Muer in China.
Cultivation techniques of Mu Er

Artificially cultivated Mu Er is usually in wood, but not dead wood, usually newly felled wood. These freshly felled woods are usually made into sections and then drilled and implanted with fungus to grow Muer, which is then harvested and marketed.
Hei Mu Er belongs to saprophytic medium-temperature fungi. Mycelium can grow between 6~36℃, but 22~32℃ is the most suitable; 15~27℃ can be differentiated out of entity, but 20~24℃ is the most suitable, because of the good natural environment in Lushi County, Henan Province, Lushi Black Fungus is its geographically protected product. Mycelium can grow in the cultivation and segment wood with 60% to 70% water content, and the entity formation requires the wood to have more than 70% water content and 90% to 95% relative air humidity. The mycelium can grow normally in the dark and requires 250~1000lx of light intensity during the seeds’ growth period. It is an aerobic fungus, pH 5~5.6 is the most suitable. Hei Muer cultivation methods are segmented wood cultivation and plastic bag cultivation.
Storage conditions of Mu Er
Mu Er storage temperature is 0 ℃, relative humidity of 95% or more is appropriate. Because it is a gelatinous edible fungus with a soft texture, it easily becomes sticky and stiff, so it must be ventilated and changed at the right time to avoid mold.
Storage and transportation methods of Mu Er
Even under a suitable temperature and humidity environment, Mu Er can only be stored for 2~3 weeks, so it is not suitable for long-term storage, but only for short-term storage of turnover and transportation. It should be packed in baskets, boxes, or plastic bags.
Quality requirements of Mu Er
Good quality Mu Er has dark and glossy ears with a grayish-white backside, large and even slices, spreading ears, light and dry body, translucent, good swelling, no impurities, and fragrant smell. A good quality dried fungus can swell about 5 kg with 0.5 kg.
Mu Er benefits

Hei Mu Er is rich in plant collagen, which has a strong adsorption effect, and also has a dissolving and oxidizing effect on indigestible hair, grain shells, wood residue, sand, metal shavings, and other foreign substances that are unintentionally ingested. The iron content of Hei Muer is extremely rich, more than 7 times that of pig liver, so eating it regularly can nourish the blood, keep the skin moist and radiant, and prevent iron deficiency anemia.
Hei Mu Er contains vitamin K, which can reduce blood clots, prevent the occurrence of thrombosis and other diseases, and has the effect of preventing atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. It contains anti-tumor active substances, which can enhance the body's immunity and can prevent and fight cancer when consumed regularly.
Hei Mu Er has the functions of benefiting the qi and strengthening the body, nourishing the kidney and stomach, and activating the blood. It can resist blood clotting, resist thrombosis, and lower blood lipids, and the function of black fungus reduces blood viscosity, softens blood vessels, makes blood flow smoothly, and reduces the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. The black fungus also has a strong adsorption effect, so regular consumption is conducive to the timely discharge of waste generated in the body.
Mu Er side effects
Bai Mu Er
Hemorrhagic stroke patients should eat with caution
The
fungus has the reputation of being the "aspirin of food". Regular consumption of black fungus can inhibit platelet coagulation and reduce blood cholesterol content, which is beneficial in preventing coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. Although black fungus has many benefits, patients with hemorrhagic stroke should eat with caution due to poor blood clotting function.
Mu Er must be cooked before eating
Mu Er has a substance called purine nucleoside, called black fungus polysaccharide. It has strong anti-coagulant activity, anti-platelet aggregation, and anti-thrombotic effects. It should be noted that Mu Er is cooked at high temperatures to improve the solubility of dietary fiber and Mu Er polysaccharide, which helps absorption and utilization, so Mu Er must be cooked, not soaked and initiated, and then consumed directly.
People with dyslipidemia should pay attention to the consumption amount
For people with dyslipidemia, regular consumption of Mu Er can play a role in food therapy, but only as an adjunct to medication. 2 to 3 times a week can be eaten.
Be careful when choosing black fungus
Mu Er is small and fragmented, with coarse and thick ear flaps or stiff blocks, wet and thin flesh, dark surface, heavy body, and gray or brown color. The Mu Er should not be mixed with any other debris. Take an appropriate amount of Muer and chew it slightly. If it has an astringent taste, it is soaked with alum water. If it smells sweet, it has been mixed with caramel water. If it smells alkaline, it has been soaked in alkaline water.
Mu Er in the common adulterants is salt, salt brine, alum, alkali, sugar, starch paste, urea, wood chips, sand, and soil.
The sodium sulfate in salt brine affects the digestion and absorption of food. Potassium aluminum sulfate, the main component of alum, can irritate the mucous membrane and cause vomiting. Urea can become nitrite, which in turn causes methemoglobin poisoning, and is even more dangerous if nitrite combines with amines to form the carcinogenic substance amine nitrate. Therefore, the adulterated and shoddy black fungus should not be consumed.
Cooking Bai Mu Er should be done with skill
The dried fungus should be soaked in warm water before cooking, and the part that is still tightly packed together after soaking should not be eaten.
Put the fungus in warm water, then add salt and soak for half an hour to soften the fungus quickly; put the fungus in warm water, then add two spoons of cornstarch and stir afterward. Using this method can remove the fungus’s fine impurities and residual grit.
Do not eat foods that are not suitable for black fungus together
Mu Er has the effect of activating sedan chairs and anticoagulation, so people with bleeding disorders should not eat it. Pregnant women should not eat more. The fungus should not be eaten with the snail. In terms of food medicine, the cold snail meets the slippery fungus, which is not good for digestion, so the two should not be eaten together. If you have hemorrhoids, you should not eat wood fungus with pheasant, because pheasant has a small poison, and it is easy to induce hemorrhoid bleeding. Wood fungus should not be eaten with wild duck, which has a sweet taste and is cold in nature, and is also easy to digest.
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