This fungus grows as a mycelium within the wood of living and dead trees. It forms fruiting bodies that are up to across, hard as leather, woody-textured, and inedible. They are white at first but soon turn dark red-brown. Brown spores are released from the pores on the underside of the fruiting body. The fruiting bodies are perennial, and may persist for multiple years, increasing in size and forming new layers of pores as they grow. Ganoderma applanatum is a wood-decay fungus, causing a rot of heartwood in a variety of trees. It can also grow as a pathogen of livesapwood, particularly on older trees that are sufficiently wet. It is a common cause of decay and death of beech and poplar, and less often of several other tree genera, including alder, apple, elm, buckeye and horse chestnut, maple, oak, walnut, willow, western hemlock, Douglas fir, old or sick olive tree and spruce.
Uses
A peculiarity of this fungus lies in its use as a drawing medium for artists. When the fresh white pore surface is rubbed or scratched with a sharp implement, dark brown tissue under the pores is revealed, resulting in visible lines and shading that become permanent once the fungus is dried. G. applanatum is a medicinal farming crop that is used as a flavor enhancer in Asian cuisine. G. applanatum is non-digestible in its raw form, but it is used for cooking, because of its rich mushroom flavor. Blending with filtration, or cold pressing in water, is a common method for creating ganoderma drinks. Hot herbal soups, or fermentation in lemon acid with onion is a common use for cooking with G. applanatum slices as an umami flavor enhancer in fermented foods. Ganoderma applanatum is known in Japan as kofuki-saru-no-koshikake, literally meaning "powder-covered monkey's bench", and in China as shu-she-ling-zhi, where it has long been used in traditional medicines. Studies have shown Ganoderma applanatum contains compounds with potent anti-tumor, antibacterial anti-fibrotic properties.
Fungivory
There is anecdotal references of higher primates consuming this fungus for self-medication. In the book Gorillas in the MistDian Fossey writes the following about gorillas eating Ganoderma applanatum:
Still another special food is bracket fungus... The shelflike projection is difficult to break free, so younger animals often have to wrap their arms and legs awkwardly around a trunk and content themselves by only gnawing at the delicacy. Older animals who succeed in breaking the fungus loose have been observed carrying it several hundred feet from its source, all the while guarding it possessively from more dominant individuals' attempts to take it away. Both the scarcity of the fungus and the gorillas' liking of it cause many intragroup squabbles, a number of which are settled by the silverback, who simply takes the item of contention for himself.
The midge Agathomyia wankowiczii lays its eggs on the fruiting body of the fungus, forming galls. Female forked fungus beetles, Bolitotherus cornutus lay their eggs on the surface of the fruiting bodies and the larvae live inside of the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma applanatum and a few other bracket fungi. Meanwhile, the flyHirtodrosophila mycetophaga courts and mates entirely on the underside of dark fungi.
Trivia
The Anne Frank tree in Amsterdam suffered rot from Ganoderma applanatum before it blew over in 2010.
