Poria (Fu Ling)
茯苓 · Fúlíng
Poria cocos (Wolfiporia extensa)
Family: Polyporaceae · Part used: Sclerotium · Origin: Yunnan (Qiubei), China
Nature
Neutral
Flavor
Sweet, bland
Meridian
Heart, Spleen, Kidney
Fu Ling is a fungus sclerotium growing around pine roots, revered for over two thousand years as the gentlest of all dampness-draining herbs. Neutral and bland, it promotes urination without damaging qi, strengthens the spleen, and calms the spirit — the quiet pillar of formulas from Si Jun Zi Tang to Gui Pi Tang.
🌿 Functions & Actions
- •Promotes urination and drains dampness
- •Strengthens the spleen
- •Calms the spirit
- •Reduces phlegm-fluid
📋 Traditional Indications
- •Edema and difficult urination
- •Loose stools and poor appetite
- •Palpitations and insomnia
- •Dizziness from phlegm
- •Phlegm-damp cough with profuse sputum
📖 Usage & Dosage
10–15 g in decoction; simmer 30 minutes. Poria cubes (bai fu ling) are also cooked into desserts and congee.
🍵 Classic Recipes
Fu Ling & Yam Soup
Poria 15 g + Chinese yam 20 g + lotus seed 15 g with pork — the gentle spleen-dampness soup.
Poria & Coix Tea
Poria 10 g + coix seed 15 g + white hyacinth bean 10 g, boiled 30 minutes for summer dampness.
🔬 Modern Research
Poria polysaccharides and triterpenes (pachymic acid) are studied for diuretic, sedative, immune, and gastric-mucosa-protective effects.
⚠️ Contraindications
Use caution with significant urinary frequency from deficiency cold.
