chestnut, beech, oak, shia, alder etc. However, it has been grown artificially for centuries on cut logs which can support seasonal fruiting. In more recent times, mass cultivation has predominantly been achieved by the sawdust culture technology. In China it is known as Xiang gu (fragrant mushroom) and as Shiitake in Japan because of its historical association with the shia tree. This mushroom has been renowned in Japan and China for thousands of years both as a food and as a medicine. It has a most exotic and delicious taste and is a central part of many Oriental dishes and is increasingly being adopted in the West. There is little difference in flavour or mouth feel between mushrooms cultured on logs and those found in the wild on tree stumps or dead trees