There has been a history of human use of the fungus, from textiles,[2] to ritualistic masks,[3] and medicinal use; the name "quinine conk" is given due to its bitter taste.

[4][5] These distinctive conks can be found growing out the side of or hanging off the branches of the host tree as high as 20 metres (65 feet) off the ground.

Lariciformes officinalis resides predominantly in old-growth forests,[11] growing in Europe, Asia, and North America, as well as Morocco.

[12] Because wild Agarikon is found mainly in old-growth forests,[11] which have been subject to diseases, invasive species, and deforestation, there has been a sharp decline in habitable space for the fungus.

[13] It is necessary to preserve the forests to prevent the extinction of Agarikon; though there have been suggestions of researching ex situ cultivation for the purpose of preserving the species,[14] few locations actually protect the forests from logging, and there are conservation laws have been put in place for the fungus only in Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia.

[1] Laricifomes officinalis, referred to as “bread of the ghosts” in local languages, was important both medicinally and spiritually to indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America, such as the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian.

The fruiting bodies were carved into masks, most likely with ritualistic purposes, and frequently marked the graves of tribal shamans.

[3] In addition, there is evidence that the mycelium growing in the rotting wood was being processed into textiles within these same peoples, creating a material similar in texture to leather.

[17] Other researchers have identified novel chlorinated coumarins in the organism which demonstrated notably low minimum inhibitory concentrations against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex.