From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
Also black forest mushroom, golden oak mushroom, Japanese black mushroom. A widely used Asian mushroom, Lentinus edodes, from shii, meaning "oak", and take, meaning "mushroom." Grown on the wood of dead deciduous trees; native to China and Japan, but now grown throughout the world. The spawn is planted in holes or wedges cut into the logs, and crops last for three to six years.
