What is Ganoderma?

Ganoderma is a genus of polypore mushroom which grow on wood, and include about 80 species, many from tropical region. Because of their extensive use in traditional Asian medicince, and their potential in bioremediation, they are a very importance genus economicall. Ganoderma can be differenctiated from other polypores because they have a double walled basidiospore. They are popularly referred to as shelf mushroom or bracket fungi. More commonly knows as Reishi Mushroom, is a hard mushroom used to promote health and longevity. Proponents claim that ganoderma can relieve fatigue, keep cholesterol in check, club high blood pressure, tame inflammation, build stamina and support the immune system. The lingzhi mushroom or reishi mushroom(traditional Chinese靈芝;pinyin: lingzhi; Japanese: reishi; Vietnamese; linh chi, literally: “supernatural mushroom”) encompasses several fungal species of the genus Ganoderma, and most commonly refers to the closely related species, Ganoderma tsugae. Ganoderma lucidum enjoys special veneration in East Asia, where it has been used as a medicince mushroom in traditional Chinese medicince for more than 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest mushroom known to have been used medicinally, Lingzhi is lested in the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia and Therapeutic Compendium.