Ganoderma lucidum  (Curtis) P. Karst. (1881)                                                      *All collections: Europe

This is one of the most distinctive Polypores with its (typically) stipitate stature and also one of the classic medicinal mushrooms of the World. The most frequently used names are the "reishi" (Japanese) and  "língzhī" (Chinese) Ganoderma lucidum forms a complex of species that have not been fully studied yet. There is a very similar species from the Pacific Northwest of NA, which is associated with Hemlock -- Ganoderma tsugae.