Species details
Lacquered bracket
Ganoderma lucidum
Inedible
Photo: Dimitǎr Boevski · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo source · License
Description
A hard wood fungus with a glossy lacquered reddish-brown cap and a whitish pore surface beneath.
Identification features
The cap is kidney- to fan-shaped, very hard, red to chestnut-brown and conspicuously glossy. The lateral stem is dark and lacquered; young pores are white.
Identification checklist
Check the lacquered surface, lateral stem and white pore surface. Ganoderma contains several very similar species.
How to separate similar species
Related Ganoderma can overlap strongly in appearance, so photographs alone may not always be sufficient.
Habitat
Grows on decaying hardwood and stumps, often near ground level, during the warmer part of the year.
Fruiting period
May, June, July, August, September, October