Plate 093 · at the foot of a living alder IdentificationSix marks on the plate
- 1Lacquered surface, shiny reddish brown with concentric furrows.
- 2Whitish-yellow margin while it is growing.
- 3White to cream pores that bruise brown when touched.
- 4Lacquered lateral stalk, sometimes short or absent.
- 5Brown spores falling like cocoa powder.
- 6On living alder, grey bark with lenticels.
Easily confused with Artist's bracketGanoderma applanatum groupDull grey-brown surface, without a lacquered shine. 093 / 100 · FUNGI & LICHENS · GANODERMATACEAENOT EVALUATED Lacquered bracket
Ganoderma lucidum s.l.
Ganoderma laqueado · Reishi
Its cap looks varnished. In Tucumán it has been found on living trunks of Andean alder and on dead trees. It attacks weakened trees and rots the wood at the base of the trunk.
- Cap
- c. 5 – 20 cm
- Altitude
- c. 500 – 2,000 m
- Host
- Andean alder and others
- Spore print
- brown
- Facultative parasite
- White rot
- Lacquered cap
- Species complex
Altitude rangeFrom the foothills to alder woodland
Tucumán records Recorded in Tucumán on Andean alder along the road to Tafí del Valle and in the Quebrada del Portugués, and on deciduous trees lower down.
EcologyParasite and decomposer
- Andean alderAlnus acuminata · living host
- Dead treesTrunks of deciduous trees
- Trunk baseRoots and root collar
- BeetlesBreed in old caps
It enters through wounds and roots and rots the wood at the root collar. When the tree dies it carries on as a decomposer.
Life cycleGrows from the rim
J F M A M J J A S O N D Growth with the rainsPersists on the tree - Inside the tree. The mycelium spreads for years through the roots and trunk base.
- A growing white rim. The cap enlarges at its pale margin, which later turns lacquered red.
- Brown dust. The white pores shed clouds of brown spores that dust the leaves and moss.
Where to look in Tucumán- Río Los Sosa
- Tafí del Valle (RP 307)
- Sierra de San Javier
- Parque Provincial La Florida