Matsutake cannot be farmed. Every mushroom is picked by hand under pine, which is why grade matters so much: a closed button can sell for twenty times the price of a flat, open cap.
We grade fresh matsutake into closed buttons, half-open and open caps, and quote premium grades separately. Frozen whole buttons let restaurants serve matsutake outside the six-week season.
For importers
Shipments from Yunnan and Korea travel by air within 48 hours of grading. We supply the phytosanitary certificate and country-of-origin documents required by the receiving market.
Scientific profile
Scientific name
Tricholoma matsutake(S. Ito & S. Imai) Singer
Family
Tricholomataceae
Order
Agaricales
Common names
Pine mushroom, song rong
Ecology & habitat
Ectomycorrhizal with red pine (Pinus densiflora) in Japan and Korea, and with pines and oaks in Yunnan and Sichuan. Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Appearance & flavour
Firm white flesh with a spicy, pine-resin and cinnamon aroma (methyl cinnamate and 1-octen-3-ol). Grilled, steamed in dobin-mushi or cooked with rice.
Notable compounds
Methyl cinnamate and 1-octen-3-ol (aroma), polysaccharides, ergosterol.
Tell us the species, form, quantity and destination. We check what can be shipped to your country and reply with a price per kg, lead time and the documents you will need.
