Ganoderma resinaceum

Description

Ganoderma resinaceum is a rare poroid fungus that persists throughout the year. The yellow resin from the edges of this large bracket hardens rapidly. As the fruiting body ages, this beautiful fungus turns black and can then be mistaken for the Hoof Fungus, Fomes fomentarius.

When this tough bracket is broken or cut, a thick yellow resin oozes from the fungus and rapidly sets to form a hard shiny surface; the specific name reflects this characteristic.

This impressive fungus has a very wide distribution: it has been reported from northern Africa, Asia, Australia and both South and North America.

Although many similar species are occurring throughout the world. Ganoderma species have shown to be a potent medicinal mushroom, being rich in polysaccharides and proteins. A big advantage of this mushroom is that it can be consumed daily without any side effects. It has also shown potential in bioremediation.

Common names: Red Reishi.

History

The bracket fungus was described in 1889 by the French mycologist Jean Louis Emile Boudier (1828 - 1920), who gave it what remains its currently-accepted scientific name, Ganoderma resinaceum.

Synonyms of Ganoderma resinaceum include Fomes resinaceus (Boud.) Sacc.

Ganoderma comes from the Greek words Ganos and derma and translates to 'shining skin'. Compared with many other members of this genus, Ganoderma resinaceum is quite bright and shiny... provided you wash off any spore dust from the upper surface of the cap. The specific epithet resinaceum means 'resinous' and is a reference to the hard-setting sticky liquid that emanates from fruitbodies that are damaged.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Lukas from London, England (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Saproamanita (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 3 - Author: Lukas from London, England (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Аимаина хикари (Public Domain)

Photo 5 - Author: Henk Monster (CC BY 3.0)