Ganoderma applanatum
| Ganoderma applanatum | |
|---|---|
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| Ganoderma applanatum | |
| Scientific classification | |
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| Species: | G. applanatum
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| Binomial name | |
| Ganoderma applanatum | |
Ganoderma applanatum | |
|---|---|
 | Pores on hymenium |
 | No distinct cap |
 | Hymenium is decurrent |
 | Lacks a stipe |
 | Spore print is brown |
 | Ecology is parasitic |
 | Edibility is inedible |
Ganoderma applanatum (Artist's Bracket, Artist's Conk, or Flacher Lackporling; syn. Boletus applanatus, Fomes applanatus, Fomes vegetus, Ganoderme aplani, Ganoderma lipsiense, Polyporus applanatus, and Polyporus vegetus) is a bracket fungus with a cosmopolitan distribution.
The spore bodies are up to 30-40 cm across, hard, woody-textured, and inedible; they are white at first but soon turn dark red-brown.
It is a wood-decaying fungus, using primarily dead heartwood, but also as a pathogen on live sapwood, particularly on older trees. It is a common cause of decay and death of beech and poplar, and less often of several other tree species, including alder, apple, elm, horse-chestnut, maple, oak, walnut, and willow.
A peculiarity of this fungus lies in its ability to be as a drawing medium for artists. When the surface is rubbed or scratched with a sharp implement, it changes from light to dark brown, producing visible lines and shading.
The Anne Frank tree in Amsterdam was almost cut down after being decomposed by the Ganoderma applanatum fungus.
Gallery
See also
References
- Phillips, D. H., & Burdekin, D. A. (1992). Diseases of Forest and Ornamental Trees. Macmillan.
- Ganoderma applanatum
- Ganoderma applanatum
- Photographs of the fungus, including one used as a drawing surface
- Several drawings created on these fungi