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January 16, 2007 : Ganoderma lucidum
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Keywords: Ganodermataceae | Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst | southwest Ontario, Canada
A nod of appreciation to bevcraigwhite@Flickr from southwestern Ontario, Canada for contributing today's image (original image | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you!
The common name of this fungus in Chinese, lingzhi, means “herb of spiritual potency” (lingzhi on Wikipedia). It has been used for millenia in Chinese herbal medicine, while Western medicide has yet to satisfy its need for proof about the claims for lingzhi's efficacy. Efforts to examine the science behind the claims are aptly detailed in both the linked Wikipedia entry and this Fungus of the Month article by Kathleen Engelbrecht and Tom Volk. Do read the Fungus of the Month article for more on this storied fungus.
On the topic of fungi and fungus of the month, January 2007 is the tenth anniversary of Fungus of the Month – if you've ever spent some time reading and learning from Fungus of the Month, I suspect it would be well-received if you sent Dr. Volk a note of appreciation (his email address appears on most pages of his site).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at January 16, 2007 12:00 AM
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Comments
Posted by: dale hinton at January 16, 2007 2:03 AM
Yeah! but is it good to eat?
Posted by: Big Al at January 16, 2007 6:45 AM
Interesting fungus!
Is there a good source where one can learn the correct pronounciation of plant names? Thanks!
Posted by: Janet A. at January 16, 2007 7:15 AM
Would you by any chance be interested ina photo of a tooth fungus; probably coral hedgehog (Hericium coralloides) or bearded hedgehog (H. erinaceus)? Thanks
Posted by: Dave Tompkins at January 16, 2007 1:17 PM
Al, no, not edible - too tough to eat.
Janet, Tom Volk includes audio files of name pronunciation for many of his featured fungi on the respective pages. If you visit the tree profile pages on Virginia Tech's Dendrology site, they also include similar help. Beyond that, though, I'm not aware of too much. People can quite vehemently disagree about Latin pronunciation, though.
Dave - sure, but I'd prefer it be posted to the Flickr site or the UBC BG forums. My inbox has over 200 emails right now with various “to-dos”.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at January 16, 2007 2:37 PM
A beautiful group! These are also known/said to be the oldest cultivated fungi in the world! The Chinese have been growing/harvesting these for thousands of years for medicinal teas....
Posted by: C.Wick at January 16, 2009 11:20 AM
i appreciate the good work of this plant. i would also suggest that in preparing it for herbal use,there should be no sugar in it so that diabetics can use it without fear.
Thanks
Posted by: ezeh Amaka at June 3, 2009 6:32 AM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
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