Ganoderma are characterized by basidiocarps that are large, perennial, woody brackets, also called "conks". They are lignicolous, leathery, and either with or without a stem. The fruit bodies typically grow in a fanlike or hooflike form on the trunks of living or dead trees. They have double-walled, truncate spores with yellow to brown ornamented inner layers.
Ganoderma applanatum is a bracket fungus with a cosmopolitan distribution. The spore bodies are up to 30-40 cm across, hard, woody-textured, and inedible; they are white at first but soon turn dark red-brown.
It is a wood-decaying fungus, using primarily dead heartwood, but also as a pathogen on live sapwood, particularly on older trees. It is a common cause of decay and death of beech and poplar, and less often of several other tree species, including alder, apple, elm, horse-chestnut, maple, oak, walnut, and willow.
A peculiarity of this fungus lies in its ability to be as a drawing medium for artists. When the surface is rubbed or scratched with a sharp implement, it changes from light to dark brown, producing visible lines and shading.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
About Ganoderma
Ganoderma is the common name of a species of fungus, Ganoderma lucidum, also known as lingzhi or red mushroom. The fungus is used in many forms of traditional Asian medicine and is believed to have considerable healing powers. Medical studies conducted with the mushroom suggest that it does have some medicinal applications, but the understanding of why it works or what it treats remains a mystery.
The mushroom grows parasitically on the lower trunk of trees, particularly deciduous varieties such as maples. Although it grows all over the world, it is extremely rare in nature, although it is now cultivated for commercial use. In appearance, ganoderma morphs from growth to growth. Typically it is brown or red-brown in color, but many other hues have been observed.
For thousands of years, the fungus has been considered by Asian medical practitioners to be one of the most superior medicinal plants in the world. It was once reserved for use by royalty, said to increase longevity. It is also believed to be anti-inflammatory, immuno-therapeutic and even anti-tumor. One Japanese study injected extract of the mushroom into mice with cancer resulting in a 50% tumor drop after ten days of treatment.
The mushroom grows parasitically on the lower trunk of trees, particularly deciduous varieties such as maples. Although it grows all over the world, it is extremely rare in nature, although it is now cultivated for commercial use. In appearance, ganoderma morphs from growth to growth. Typically it is brown or red-brown in color, but many other hues have been observed.
For thousands of years, the fungus has been considered by Asian medical practitioners to be one of the most superior medicinal plants in the world. It was once reserved for use by royalty, said to increase longevity. It is also believed to be anti-inflammatory, immuno-therapeutic and even anti-tumor. One Japanese study injected extract of the mushroom into mice with cancer resulting in a 50% tumor drop after ten days of treatment.
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