Chapter 184 Primal Ganoderma
While Xu Que and the others were still in this very lush and magical forest, following Xu Que's footsteps, they discovered a large plate of blood-red Ganoderma lucidum.
Xu Que was the first to pluck the enormous Ganoderma lucidum in front of everyone.
Lingzhi, or Ganoderma lucidum, is sweet and neutral in nature, entering the heart meridian. It nourishes heart blood, benefits heart qi, and calms the mind. Therefore, it can be used to treat restlessness, insomnia, palpitations, excessive dreaming, forgetfulness, fatigue, and poor appetite caused by insufficient qi and blood and malnourishment of the heart. In other words, the effects and benefits of Lingzhi are quite significant!
Lingzhi can be taken alone as a powder, or combined with Angelica sinensis, Paeonia lactiflora, Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa, Platycladus orientalis seed, and longan pulp. It can be remarkably effective for people with cough, asthma, and excessive phlegm.
Reishi mushroom has a sweet and nourishing taste, and is neutral to slightly warm in nature. It enters the lung meridian, tonifies lung qi, warms the lungs and resolves phlegm, stops cough and relieves asthma. It is often used to treat phlegm-fluid retention syndrome, especially for those with cold limbs, cough, excessive phlegm and shortness of breath. It is particularly effective for phlegm-dampness type or deficiency-cold type. It can be used alone or in combination with other qi-tonifying, lung-astringing, yang-warming and phlegm-resolving herbs such as Codonopsis pilosula, Schisandra chinensis, dried ginger, and Pinellia ternata.
Reishi mushroom also has a very good effect on consumptive diseases. Reishi mushroom has the effect of nourishing qi and blood, so it is often used to treat symptoms such as shortness of breath, loss of appetite, cold hands and feet, or irritability and dry mouth. It is often combined with other tonifying herbs such as Cornus officinalis, ginseng, and Rehmannia glutinosa.
Reishi mushrooms have many benefits. If you have the opportunity, you can eat some. They can treat insomnia, coughs, and restlessness. They can also effectively nourish the body, lower blood pressure, and prevent various chronic diseases. Therefore, there are many benefits to eating reishi mushrooms.
At that moment, Xu Que hugged the huge plate of wild Ganoderma lucidum to his chest and ate most of it.
The remaining half had no choice but to be distributed among the others.
Ever since everyone received this wild Ganoderma lucidum, they've started eating it the way Xu Que does.
Xu Que, on the other hand, took the half piece of Ganoderma lucidum that his father had given him and searched in the forest for a long time. He found wild onions and ate them like the people in his hometown wrapped in pancakes, just like he remembered.
Gradually, everyone discovered that the forest contained not only these things, but also many other plants that did not live here at all.
For example, the pitcher plant, a truly amazing plant.
Xu Que looked at the tropical Old World plant he had seen online before the apocalypse and couldn't help but wonder. He said to everyone, "Planting pitcher plants requires a loose and breathable substrate with good water retention and drainage. It is generally a slightly acidic cultivation substrate."
A typical formula is two parts peat moss and one part perlite. Alternatively, coarse peat moss or pure sphagnum moss can be used alone for planting. When planting in large pots, add a small amount of bark, tree fern fiber, sphagnum moss, volcanic rock, or foam blocks to improve the aeration of the substrate. Place large pieces of medium such as volcanic rock or foam blocks at the bottom of the pot.
It is said that for pitcher plants growing in some limestone areas, a substrate containing alkaline pumice mixed with sphagnum moss or peat moss is better. When using hanging baskets, sphagnum moss or peat moss, which retain water well, can be used, with only a small amount or no perlite. For bottom-water planting, a mixture of one part peat moss and one part perlite can be used, or other larger-particle media can be added. In Southeast Asia, where coconuts are abundant, coconut coir, coconut shreds, and coconut blocks are often used for planting. These are available domestically, but not necessarily suitable. Due to different processing methods, these media may contain high levels of salt. Only coconut-based media that have undergone long-term rain weathering or soaking in clean water to reduce salt content are suitable for planting pitcher plants.
If you want to try it but are unsure of the quality, it is recommended to soak it in clean water for a few days and change the water several times. Only in this way can you ensure that this magical grass survives. Xu Que thought that the grass in front of him was artificially cultivated.
For water, use water with low mineral content, such as rainwater or purified water. Keep the substrate moist and well-draining, but not too wet. When the substrate surface is shiny with water, it indicates that the water content is high and the substrate is too wet. Watering should be stopped to avoid affecting normal root growth or even causing root rot and plant death. Lack of water will cause the plant to dehydrate and shrivele, with leaves drooping, curling, or wrinkling in a wavy pattern, and developing spores drying out.
In summer, you can use a dedicated air conditioner, a modified freezer, a chiller, or ice to cool it down. The daytime temperature should be kept above 30 degrees Celsius and below that at night. If a large temperature difference cannot be provided at night, growth will be slow, but it will generally not lead to death. If there are no suitable conditions, you can place it in an air-conditioned room or other shady place. If the temperature is too high, growth will stop and the cage may wither. If the condition is not good, you should improve the environment in time to prevent it from dying from exhaustion.
Regarding light, pitcher plants prefer bright light, but whether they need direct sunlight depends on factors such as variety, plant condition, season, and temperature. It's crucial to balance light with temperature and humidity; strong light can raise temperature and lower humidity. When grown in a closed environment, direct sunlight should be avoided to prevent excessively high temperatures, and proper ventilation is essential. Generally, pitcher plants can tolerate full sun in winter, early spring, and late autumn. In summer, they need shade with a light-blocking net or placed in a very bright, indirect light location. During other seasons, direct sunlight should be avoided around midday. Adequate light promotes strong plants, glossy leaves, and large, vibrant pitchers. However, excessive light inhibits growth, can scorch leaves, and prevents pitcher development. Insufficient light results in weak plants, slow growth, dark green, thin leaves, and small, or even non-developing pitchers.
Pitcher plants are the largest carnivorous plants and have relatively high nutrient requirements. In the wild, they mainly rely on capturing insects to obtain the nutrients they need. However, when cultivated artificially, they often capture fewer insects, requiring additional nutrients, usually through fertilization. During the growing season, use a general-purpose compound fertilizer diluted 4000 times, spraying the leaves or filling the pitchers to their height, twice a month. It is not recommended to spray too much high-nitrogen fertilizer on the leaves, as this often results in very large leaves and small pitchers.
Two main problems beginners typically encounter when growing pitcher plants are: insufficient humidity causing the pitchers to wilt, and frost damage or even death of the plants in winter. Therefore, before planting pitcher plants, you should consider solutions to these two problems to ensure a more enjoyable and less stressful experience!
Cuttings: Use a sharp knife to cut stem segments from the mother plant at an angle, each segment having at least two nodes. Cut the leaves in half. Plant them in a clean substrate, using high-quality sphagnum moss for best results. Maintain high humidity and bright light. You can cover the cuttings with a transparent plastic bag. They will generally root in about a month.
Once at least two new leaves have grown, make a hole in the plastic bag to gradually reduce the air humidity. Observe the condition of the plant and adjust the size of the opening. If the leaves are slightly withered and dehydrated, it means that the air humidity is dropping too quickly. The opening should be reduced to allow the plant to adapt to the rate of decrease in air humidity. Finally, remove the plastic bag and cultivate it together with normal plants.
Division: When the plant is large, new plants will grow from the underground rhizome. Once they have six or more leaves, separate them from the mother plant and plant them in clean substrate, maintaining high humidity. Methods such as removing the terminal bud or other stressful conditions are beneficial for division.
These aspects of the pitcher plant suggest that this forest is not suitable for its growth, yet it does indeed grow here.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com