Species details

Lacquered bracket

Ganoderma lucidum

Inedible
Lacquered bracket – Ganoderma lucidum

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.

Detailed features

Cap
The cap is kidney- to fan-shaped, very hard, red to chestnut-brown and conspicuously glossy.
Hymenophore
The lateral stem is dark and lacquered; young pores are white.
Stem
The lateral stem is dark and lacquered; young pores are white.

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

Ecology

Substrate
Stumps, Wood
Notes
Grows on decaying hardwood and stumps, often near ground level, during the warmer part of the year.

How to separate similar species

Related Ganoderma can overlap strongly in appearance, so photographs alone may not always be sufficient.

Similar species

Conservation

Protected species
Yes
Red list
R – rare species
Notes
The species is legally protected in Slovenia under the regulation on protected wild fungi. On the Slovenian Red List: R – rare species.

Extended-description sources