Ganoderma martinicense

Back to Fungus page

Ganoderma martinicense - Mushroom Observer
Ganoderma - Wikipedia

I found this polypore mushroom growing on a stick between my raised beds. The specimen I found was unusual in that it stood upright instead of growing as a shelf on a large piece of wood. The stem is a deep reddish brown and somewhat shiny. The mushrooms in the genus are known as Reishi mushrooms, using the Japanese name because of the health and medicinal uses for them in far eastern countries.

Ganoderma can grow to be quite large. G. martinicense seems to be one of the few that grows upright. They are flexible like dense rubber. The second photo shows how the one I found grew on a very small stick.