Vegetables · FFET10444
Qingyuan shiitake
Shiitake from Qingyuan, Zhejiang, with cultivation methods that developed from notched wood to cut logs and substrate bags.
CanonVegetablesQingyuan shiitake are mushrooms grown in Qingyuan County, Lishui, Zhejiang. Local cultivation developed from notching wood for spores to colonize, known as duohua, to cut-log and bag-substrate methods. A 2024 notice authorizing use of the geographical indication special mark lists Qingyuan shiitake, but does not establish the original year of protection.
What
Qingyuan shiitake are mushrooms grown in Qingyuan, Zhejiang, where a tradition of cultivation on wood accompanies large-scale bag-substrate production.1,4
When
Local accounts and reporting trace the duohua method to the Southern Song and describe a history of about 800 years. Local tellings credit it to a Qingyuan man named Wu Sangong, though sources differ on his name and dates. These datings come from later accounts; the available material provides no dated primary text naming Qingyuan shiitake.1,2,3
Where
The producing area is Qingyuan County in Lishui, in the forested mountains of southwestern Zhejiang.1,2
How
The duohua method creates cuts in wood for spores to colonize, cut-log cultivation uses sections of wood, and bag cultivation uses bagged substitute material as the substrate. In recent years the county has also built smart greenhouses covering more than 160 mu.1,2
Why
Forest cover in Qingyuan is above 90 percent, and local cultivation is tied to forest management in an approach known as forest-mushroom co-cultivation.1
Impact and influence
A 2023 report states that the Zhejiang Qingyuan forest-mushroom co-cultivation system became a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System in November 2022; this recognition concerns the agricultural system. Separately, a 2024 official notice authorized one family farm to use the Qingyuan shiitake geographical indication special mark. A June 2025 report puts Qingyuan's 2024 output at about 139 million bags, 117,700 metric tons of fresh mushrooms, and an output value near 5.8 billion yuan.1,2,4