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Source: Ganoderma lucidum (Leyss. ex Fr.) Karst. (syn. Polyporus japonicus Fr.) and G. japonicum (Fr.) Lloyd. (syn G. sinense Zhao, Xu et Zhang) (Family Polyporaceae).
Common/Vernacular names: Reishi, lingzhi, ling zhi cao, ling chi, mannentake, holy mushroom, chizhi (red lingzhi or G. lucidum), zizhi (purple lingzhi or C. japonicum), and so on.
Fungi of the polypore family. Part used is the fruiting body.
The pileus (cap) of G. lucidum is corky, kidney shaped to semicircular, with a hard upper surface, yellow at first but gradually changing to reddish brown, reddish purple, or dull purple; shiny, with annular grooves or ridges and radial wrinkles; edges thin, often curved downward. Cap sizes vary considerably, ranging from 4 × 3 cm to 20 × 10 cm in area and 0.5–2 cm in thickness. Woody stalk (stipe) is mostly lateral, 0.5–2.5 cm thick and up to 19 cm long, purplish brown to black and shellacked.
The fruiting body of G. japonicum (purple lingzhi) resembles closely that of G. lucidum (red lingzhi), with cap sizes ranging from 2 × 1.4 cm to 20 × 20 cm; stalk up to 15 cm long and 0.9 cm thick. The only major difference is the dark purple to black colored cap and stalk of G. japonicum. However, some old specimens of red lingzhi also have dark purple caps and stalks and thus cannot be readily distinguished from purple lingzhi.
Both ganodermas are widely distributed in China, especially along coastal provinces, growing at stumps and decaying logs of oak and other broad-leaved trees as well as on decaying conifers, especially Tsuga chinensis (Franch.) Pritz., which is parasitized by G. lucidum. The latter can also be found on hardwoods in North America as well as in Japan and Korea.
The mushrooms are collected in autumn, washed to rid of dirt, and dried under the sun. They are not processed further.
Although now commercially cultivated in China, much of the ganoderma is still gathered wild. The type imported into the United States is mainly red lingzhi (G. lucidum); this species is now mostly cultivated in America as well as in China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.
In addition to above two Ganoderma species, other species of polypores are occasionally used as substitutes of lingzhi, including Ganoderma applanatum (Pers. ex Gray), G. lobatum (Schw.) Atk., G. capense (Lloyd) Teng, Fomes pinicola (Swartz ex Fr.) Cke., Trametes dickinsii Berk., Polyporus montanus (Quel.) Freey., P. grammocephalus Berk., and Polysticus vernicipes (Berk.) Cke.
Ganoderma lucidum, G. japonicum, G. capense, and G. applanatum are used as fungal sources for the fermentative production of lingzhi biomass.
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