Tiger Milk Mushroom: A Botanical Guide
The part people buy is not the mushroom. It is the sclerotium — a hard lump of fungal tissue that sits underground, with a small cap poking up above it. Wild ones grow singly and are hard to find, which is why almost everything on sale now is cultivated. This guide covers the botany, what is in our capsules, how to take them, and at length what is and is not known about safety. No health claims: none are permitted, and the published human data is thin.
- Latin name
- Lignosus rhinocerotis
- Part used
- Sclerotium — underground, not the cap
- Origin
- Tropical Southeast Asia, principally Malaysia
- Per daily serving
- 900 mg of 10:1 extract, 2 capsules
- Format
- Capsules only, 60 per bottle
- Allergen
- Fungal material — see the product label
01 What Tiger Milk Mushroom is
A polypore fungus of the tropical Southeast Asian forest floor. Malaysia is the heartland; it is also recorded in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and parts of southern China. In Malaysia it goes by cendawan susu rimau.
The sclerotium is the compact underground mass of tissue from which the small stalked cap emerges. That underground portion is what has been collected, and what extracts are made from. The cap and stalk are not used.
The name is folk etymology rather than botany — the story goes that the mushroom springs up where a tigress's milk has fallen. There is no tiger involved.
- Common name
- Tiger Milk Mushroom
- Latin binomial
- Lignosus rhinocerotis (Cooke) Ryvarden — also written Lignosus rhinocerus in supplement labelling and in much of the published literature
- Family
- Polyporaceae
- Part used
- Sclerotium (the underground tuber-like mass), not the cap or stalk
- Native range
- Tropical Southeast Asia, principally Malaysia
- Form on our shelf
- Capsules only
Wild-collected versus cultivated. Wild sclerotia are genuinely scarce. They grow singly, they are hard to spot, and historically they were picked up opportunistically from the forest floor — most of the reason the species acquired its reputation for rarity. That scarcity is precisely why cultivation was developed. Commercially available Tiger Milk Mushroom material today is grown rather than foraged, which makes supply, identity and consistency far easier to control than wild collection ever allowed.
02 What's in our product
The formula is deliberately short. Tiger Milk Mushroom extract, and a vegan capsule shell. Nothing else — no bulking agents, no flow agents, no fillers, no sweeteners, no flavourings.
- Botanical
- Lignosus rhinocerus extract
- Amount per serving
- 900 mg per daily serving of 2 capsules (450 mg per capsule)
- Extract ratio
- 10:1
- Raw equivalent
- 900 mg of 10:1 extract is equivalent to 9,000 mg (9 g) of mushroom
- Standardisation
- ≥10% polysaccharide
- Capsule shell
- Vegan, plant-based
- Other ingredients
- None
- Free from
- Artificial additives, sweeteners, gluten, soy, dairy; non-GMO
- Allergen note
- Contains mushroom (fungal) material
- Suitable for
- Vegans and vegetarians
- Bottle size
- 60 capsules
- Bottle duration
- 30 days at 2 capsules a day — a one-month supply
- Manufacture
- Made in a facility adhering to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
Ten kilograms of dried mushroom in, one kilogram of extract powder out. Two capsules therefore carry the raw-material equivalent of 9 grams.
The arithmetic behind "10:1". An extract ratio describes how much starting material went into a given weight of finished extract. A 10:1 extract means 10 kilograms of dried mushroom material were processed down to 1 kilogram of extract powder — a ten-fold concentration by weight. So: 900 mg of extract × 10 = 9,000 mg, or 9 grams, of mushroom in raw-material terms. That is the figure on the label.
A ratio is a description of the manufacturing process, not a measure of potency. It tells you the concentration step, not what ended up in the powder. Nor are ratios comparable across brands unless the starting material and extraction method match, which they rarely do. This is why the standardisation figure carries more weight: ≥10% polysaccharide is a stated floor for a measurable constituent, and a floor is a firmer number than a ratio.
03 How to take it
The label directions are simple.
- Daily amount
- 2 capsules
- With food?
- Preferably with a meal, and with water
- Timing
- No particular time of day is specified. Pick a meal you eat reliably and keep to it
- Maximum
- Do not exceed the recommended daily amount
- Format note
- Swallow the capsules whole with water
- Storage
- Keep the lid closed. Store in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight. Keep out of reach of young children
- Also
- Not a substitute for a varied and balanced diet or a healthy lifestyle
Take both capsules together, or split them across two meals. The daily total is what the label specifies. There is no liquid drop format for this botanical in our range, so no dropper technique to learn.
Miss a day and you simply take the next day's serving as normal. Doubling up achieves nothing and would exceed the recommended amount.
04 Taste and format
Capsules only. So the practical answer to "what does it taste like" is that largely you don't taste it — the shell is swallowed whole and the extract stays inside it.
Open one and you will smell it. The extract is a fine, pale-to-mid brown powder with a faint earthy, woody smell typical of dried fungal material. Not strong, not unpleasant. We would still not recommend opening capsules and stirring the contents into food or drink: the powder is not formulated for that, and it makes the daily amount harder to measure accurately.
The practical advantage of capsules over loose powder is that the serving is fixed, there is nothing to weigh, and there is no taste to work around. The trade-off is that you cannot go below one capsule.
05 In short
A Southeast Asian polypore whose sclerotium has a long-standing place in regional herbal tradition. Ours is a 10:1 extract: 900 mg per two-capsule daily serving, standardised to ≥10% polysaccharide, in a vegan capsule with nothing else added. Sixty capsules, one month per bottle. The safety evidence is limited and we have said so plainly rather than padding it out.
Shop the product: Tiger Milk Mushroom Capsules
UK Standard delivery is £3.95, and free on orders of £30 or more. UK Express is £4.95, and free on orders of £48 or more. Orders are dispatched within 1–2 business days and typically arrive within 1–4 business days, via Royal Mail or Amazon Logistics. Returns: you have 30 days from receipt to request a return. The item must be unopened, untampered and in its original packaging, with proof of purchase. Email hello@probotanics.co.uk to start a return — accepted returns are sent a return shipping label and instructions, and items sent back without requesting a return first cannot be accepted. If an item arrives damaged, defective or incorrect, contact us immediately on receipt.
This is a food supplement, not a medicine. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied and balanced diet or a healthy lifestyle. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking any medication or under medical care, speak to your doctor or pharmacist before use. ProBotanics Ltd, company number 13685177, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE.