Is Lingzhi the Same as Shiitake Mushroom?
Lingzhi is not Shiitake
Chinese Name: Lingzhi
Scientific Name: Ganoderma lucidum (Leyss. ex Fr.) Karst.
Chinese Pinyin: lingzhi
English: Lingzhi''Reishi
Alternative Names: Red Lingzhi, Red Ganoderma
The term "Lingzhi" commonly refers to the fruiting body of the fungus. Biological characteristics of the Lingzhi fruiting body are as follows:
Annual, cork-like, with a stalk.
Fruiting body kidney-shaped, semi-circular, or nearly circular, 12 cm × 20 cm, up to 2 cm thick; upper surface yellow-brown to reddish-brown, sometimes lighter toward the edge; margin pale yellow-brown, with concentric rings and grooves, longitudinal wrinkles, glossy like lacquer; margin blunt or sharp, sometimes inward-curving. Flesh pale white to wood-white, near the pores often light brown or near brown, cork-like, about 1 cm thick. Pores pale white to light brown to brown, pore length about 1 cm; pore surface initially white, gradually turning light brown, gray-brown to brown, occasionally dirty yellow or pale yellow-brown, with 4–5 pores per mm.
Stem lateral or eccentric, rarely nearly central, nearly cylindrical or flattened cylindrical, 2–4 cm thick, 10–19 cm long, surface same color as cap or purple-red to purple-brown, glossy like lacquer.
Spores pale brown to yellow-brown, containing one oil droplet, (8.5–11.2) μm × (5.2–6.9) μm, oval, apex often flat, double-walled, inner wall pale brown to yellow-brown with small spines, outer wall smooth, colorless.
Mycelial threads colorless to brown, branched, often curved, diameter 1.5–6 μm, thick walls without septa, no clamp connections.
Lingzhi grows primarily on decaying logs or stumps of broadleaf trees such as oak and hornbeam; occasionally found on coniferous tree logs or stumps.
Distribution: Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Hunan, Hainan Island, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Jilin, and Yunnan provinces