Ganoderma family - Ganodermataceae

Ganoderma is a genus of hundreds described species (Mycobank, Fungorum, NCBI Taxonomy). They are found on wood, and the family includes important wood-rotting fungi. This family of fungi contains some of the hard, woody fungi often sean as large shelf like structures on dead and some times living trees, also it produces spores with a complex wall structure; the spore wall is 2-layered, with ornamentations on the inner layer penetrating a colourless outer layer, and fruit bodies are annual or perennial, bracket-like, and corky or woody in texture.

Ganoderma Lucidum

Cap: 2-20 cm; at first irregularly knobby or elongated, but by maturity more or less fan-shaped; with a shiny, varnished surface often roughly arranged into lumpy "zones"; red to reddish brown when mature; when young often with zones of bright yellow and white toward the margin.

Flesh: Brownish; fairly soft when young, but soon tough.

Pore Surface: White, becoming dingy brownish in age; usually bruising brown; 4-7 tiny (nearly invisible to the naked eye) circular pores per mm; tubes to 2 cm deep.

Spores 7-13 x 5-9 µ; more or less elliptical, sometimes with a truncated end; appearing smooth at lower magnifications, finely spiny at high magnification.

While Ganoderma lucidum is annual and does not actually grow more each year like some polypores, its fruiting body is quite tough and can last for months.

Other names: Chi zhi, Hong ling zhi, Linh chi, Ling chih, Ling qi, Ling zhi, Ling zhi cao, Lucid ganoderma, Ganoderma lucidum, Mannentake, Reishi, Rokkaku reishi, Young ji, Zi zhi.

Ganoderma Tsugae

Ganoderma Tsugae is recognized, like Ganoderma lucidum, by its varnished, reddish cap and stem.

Cap: 5-30 cm; at first irregularly knobby or elongated, but by maturity more or less fan-shaped; with a shiny, varnished surface often roughly arranged into lumpy "zones"; red to reddish brown when mature; when young often with zones of bright yellow and white toward the margin; occasionally with bluish tints.

Stem: Sometimes absent, but more commonly present; 3-14 cm long; up to 3 cm thick; twisted; equal or irregular; varnished and colored like the cap; often distinctively angled away from one side of the cap.

Flesh: Whitish; fairly soft when young, but soon tough.

Spores 9-11 x 6-8 µ; more or less elliptical, sometimes with a truncated end; usually appearing roughened even at lower magnifications.

Ganoderma Applanatum

Cap: 5-75 cm (!) across; more or less fan-shaped, or irregular; with a dull, unvarnished, wrinkled (lumpy, furrowed, etc.) outer crust, often roughly arranged into "zones"; brownish to grayish brown.

Flesh: Brown to cinnamon brown (rarely whitish); very tough

Pore Surface: White, becoming dirty yellowish or dingy brownish to olive in age; bruising brown; 4-6 tiny (nearly invisible to the naked eye) circular pores per mm; tubes in layers (a new layer is added each year), separated by brown tissue, with each layer 4-12 mm deep.

Spores 6-9.5 x 4.5-7 µ; more or less elliptical, with a truncated end; appearing smooth at lower magnifications, finely spiny at high magnification.

The distinguishing features of Ganoderma applanatum are its unvarnished, furrowed and lumpy, brown-crusted cap surface; its white pore surface, which bruises brown; and its brownish or cinnamon flesh. As one might expect with a mushroom so widely distributed and common, the mycological "splitters" have designated several similar, closely related species.

Ganoderma Zonatum

Ganoderma zonatum is a white rot fungus that produces numerous enzymes that allow it to degrade (rot) woody tissue, primarily lignin and cellulose. As the fungus destroys the palm wood internally, the xylem (water-conducting tissue) will eventually be affected.

The primary symptom that may be observed is a wilting, mild to severe, of all leaves but the spear leaf. Other symptoms can best be described as a general decline – slower growth and off-color foliage. However, these symptoms alone should not be used for diagnosis of Ganoderma butt rot, since other disorders or diseases may also cause these symptoms.

Ganoderma butt rot is caused by the fungus Ganoderma zonatum. This fungus degrades or rots the lower 4-5 feet of the trunk. This has three implications. First, this means the fungus is not spread with pruning tools since the fungus is not associated with leaves. Second, this means that only the lower trunk portion should not be chipped and used for mulch. If possible, the diseased section should be placed in a landfill or incinerated. The remaining, fungus-free portion of the palm trunk could be chipped and used for mulch in the landscape.

Ganoderma species: Mycobank, Fungorum, NCBI Taxonomy

Crystal Structure And Anti-Tumor Activity Of Lz-8 From The Fungus Ganoderma Lucidium [Antitumor Protein] - PubMed

Ganoderma Extract