Ganoderma lucidum

Species: Ganoderma lucidum

English Name: Lingzhi Mushroom, Reishi Mushroom

Chinese Name: 靈芝

Family: Ganodermataceae

Description:

The Lingzhi Mushroom has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 4,000 years to treat liver disorders, high blood pressure, arthritis, and other ailments. It is a polypore mushroom that is soft (when fresh), corky, and flat, with a conspicuous red-varnished, kidney-shaped cap and, depending on specimen age, white to dull brown pores underneath. It lacks gills on its underside and releases its spores through fine pores, leading to its morphological classification as a polypore. Grows wild on decaying logs and tree stumps. Occurs in six different colors, but the red variety is most commonly used and commercially cultivated in East Asia and North America.

Ganoderma lucidum — ©2003 S.K. Chan et. al.

Photos used under a Creative Commons license

References:

– Chan Shek-Kiu and Wu Qi-Gen. Chinese Medicinal Herbs of Macao (Volume 1), Macao, University of Macau, 2003.

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