Lingzhi (Ganoderma sichuanense), also known as reishi, is a polypore fungus ("bracket fungus") native to East Asia belonging to the genus Ganoderma.
Its reddish brown, varnished, kidney-shaped cap with bands and peripherally inserted stem give it a distinct fan-like appearance. When fresh, the lingzhi is soft, cork-like, and flat. It lacks gills on its underside, and instead releases its spores via fine pores (80–120 μm) in yellow colors.
In nature, it grows at the base and stumps of deciduous trees, especially maples. Lingzhi may be cultivated on hardwood logs, sawdust, or woodchips.
The lingzhi mushroom is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Taxonomy Lingzhi, also known as reishi from its Japanese pronunciation, is the ancient "mushroom of immortality", revered for over 2,000 years (with some evidence suggesting use in Neolithic China 6,800 years ago). However, as of 2023 there is an ongoing debate on which one of the described Ganoderma species is the true lingzhi mushroom. It is also likely that a few similar Ganoderma species were considered interchangeable.
In the scientific literature, the lingzhi mushroom is ambiguously referred to as:
Ganoderma sichuanense — the currently accepted name, described by Zhao and Zhang (1983). Ganoderma lingzhi — described by Cao et al. (2012) as a novel species that may be the best fit for traditional definitions of the lingzhi mushroom. However, Du et al. (2023) found that it is the same species as G. sichuanense, so it is now treated as a later synonym. Ganoderma lucidum — the type species of Ganoderma was first described in 1781 by Curtis as Boletus lucidus based on European collections. In 1881 Karst designated it as the type species of his new genus Ganoderma, as Ganoderma lucidum. Early literature used G. lucidum for collections from China, but it was later established that Asian populations are distinct from European, both morphologically and phylogenetically. As the lingzhi fungus is strongly rooted in culture, the old name persists, even though it is well established that G. sichuanense and G. lucidum are distinct species.
One source employed to solve the task of identifying the traditional lingzhi mushroom is the 16th century Chinese herbal compendium, the (1578). There, a number of different lingzhi-like mushrooms defined by color were used for different purposes. No exact current species can be attached to these ancient lingzhi for certain, but according to Dai et al. (2017), as well as other researchers, and based on molecular work, red lingzhi is most likely to be Ganoderma sichuanense.
Ganoderma sichuanense is the most widely found species in Chinese herb shops today, and the fruiting bodies are widely cultivated in China and shipped to many other countries. About 7–10 other Ganoderma species are also sold in some shops, but have different Chinese and Latin names, and are considered different in their activity and functions. The differences are based on concentrations of triterpenes such as ganoderic acid and its derivatives, which vary widely among species. Research on the genus is ongoing, but a number of recent phylogenetic analyses have been published in recent years.
Nomenclature Petter Adolf Karsten first described the genus Ganoderma in 1881. He designated as its type species a European fungus named Boletus lucidus by English botanist William Curtis in 1781. Since then, many other Ganoderma species have been described.
The lingzhi's botanical names have Greek and Latin roots. Ganoderma derives from the Greek (; ), and (; ). The specific epithet, sichuanense, comes from the Sichuan Chinese province. The common name, lingzhi, comes from Chinese, meaning .
Varieties It was once thought that G. lingzhi generally occurred in two growth forms: a large, sessile, specimen with a small or nonexistent stalk, found in North America, and a smaller specimen with a long, narrow stalk, found mainly in the tropics. However, recent molecular evidence has identified the former, stalkless, form as a distinct species called G. sessile, a name given to North American specimens by William Alfonso Murrill in 1902.
Environmental conditions play a substantial role in the lingzhi's manifest morphological characteristics. For example, elevated carbon dioxide levels result in stem elongation in lingzhi. Other formations include antlers without a cap, which may also be related to carbon dioxide levels. The three main factors that influence fruit body development morphology are light, temperature, and humidity. While water and air quality play a role in fruit body development morphology, they do so to a lesser degree.
Distribution and habitat Ganoderma lingzhi is found in East Asia growing as a parasite or saprotroph on a variety of trees. Ganoderma curtisii and Ganoderma ravenelii are the closest relatives of the lingzhi mushroom in North America.
In the wild, lingzhi grows at the base and stumps of deciduous trees, especially maples. Today, lingzhi is effectively cultivated on sawdust, woodchips, and hardwood logs.
Uses
Chemistry
Ganoderma lucidum contains diverse chemicals, including triterpenes (ganoderic acids), which have a molecular structure similar to that of steroid hormones. It also contains phytochemicals found in fungal materials, including polysaccharides (such as beta-glucan), coumarin, mannitol, and alkaloids. Sterols isolated from the mushroom include ganoderol, ganoderenic acid, ganoderiol, ganodermanontriol, lucidadiol, and ganodermadiol.
Folk medicine
Because of its bitter taste, lingzhi is traditionally prepared as a hot water extract product for use in folk medicine. Thinly sliced or pulverized lingzhi (either fresh or dried) is added to boiling water which is then reduced to a simmer, covered, and left for 2 hours. The resulting liquid is dark and fairly bitter in taste. The red lingzhi is often more bitter than the black. The process is sometimes repeated to increase the concentration. Alternatively, it can be used as an ingredient in a formula decoction, or used to make an extract (in liquid, capsule, or powder form).
Other uses Lingzhi is commercially manufactured and sold. Since the early 1970s, most lingzhi is cultivated. Lingzhi can grow on substrates such as sawdust, grain, and wood logs. After formation of the fruiting body, lingzhi is most commonly harvested, dried, ground, and processed into tablets or capsules to be directly ingested or made into tea or soup. Other lingzhi products include processed fungal mycelia or spores. Lingzhi is also used to create mycelium bricks.
Cultural significance
In the chronicles of (1st century CE from Sima Qian), the initial use of nearby separately related words with and are attested to in the poems of Emperor Wu of Han. Later, in the 1st century CE through the poetry of Ban Gu, occurred the first combination of the characters together into a single word, in an ode dedicated to Lingzhi.Философско-эстетический смысл так называемого «божественного гриба» («линчжи») в искусстве Китая // Научные сообщения Государственного музея искусства народов Востока // М.: Наука, 1977. — Вып. 9. — С. 40—46.Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality / Wasson R. G. // New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972. — P. 85. — P. 89.
Since ancient times, Taoist temples were called "the abode of mushrooms" and according to their mystical teachings, the use of woody mushrooms (Ganoderma) or "spirits mushroom", in particular making from it a concentrated decoction of hallucinogenic action, gave followers the opportunity to see spirits or become spirits themselves by receiving the magical energy of the immortals , located on the "fields of grace" in the heavenly "mushroom fields" ().Китай: колокольца в пыли. Странствия мага и интеллектуала// М.: Алетейа, 2005. — 376 с. — ISBN 5-98639-025-3 — С. 74, 356, 367.
In the philosophical work , it is said that the lingzhi mushroom is personification of nobility; from which shamans brewed a psychedelic drink.Философы из Хуайнани. Хуайнаньцзы / Пер. Л. Е. Померанцевой. Сост. И. В. Ушаков // М: Мысль, 2004. — 430 с. — — С. 267. «Шаманок (Ушань) — гора в пров. Сычуань. Из гриба цзычжи (другое название — линчжи) мудрецы делали дурманящий напиток. О дереве гаося аналогичных сведений как будто нет. Комментарий говорит, что это высокое дерево с плотной шелковистой древесиной белого цвета и что гаося и цзычжи символы благородства, а чернобыльники и полынь — символы ничтожества.» — С. 50: «На горе Шаманок послушны ветру и покорны огню как дерево гаося и гриб цзычжи, так и чернобыльник и полынь все погибают вместе.»Поздние даосы о природе, обществе и искусстве («Хуайнаньцзы» — II в. до н. э.) / Померанцева Л. Е. // М.: Издательство Московского университета, 1979. — 240 с. — С. 145, 220.
The (Divine Farmer's Classic of Pharmaceutics) of classifies into six color categories, each of which is believed to benefit the , or "life force", in a different part of the body: (; ) for the liver, (; ) for the heart, (; ) for the spleen, (; ) for the lungs, (; ) for the kidneys, and (; ) for the Essence. Commentators identify the red , or (; ), as the lingzhi.
In the Taoist treatise of from Ge Hong, the lingzhi is used for immortality.Li Bo Unkempt / Kidder Smith, Mike Zhai // Punctum Books, 2021. — ; . — pp. 137, 405. / Lu Di // «East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine», № 37 (2013)/2014: 36-68.Traditional uses, chemical components and pharmacological activities of the genus Ganoderma P. Karst.: a review / Li Wang, Jie-qing Li, Ji Zhang, Zhi-min Li, Hong-gao Liu, Yuan-zhong Wang // RSC Advances: Issue 69, 2020.
The (1596) (Compendium of Materia Medica) has a () category that includes six types of (calling the green, red, yellow, white, black, and purple mushrooms of the the liuzhi (六芝; "six mushrooms") and sixteen other fungi, mushrooms, and lichens, including mu'er (木耳; "wood ear"; "cloud ear fungus", Auricularia auricula-judae). The author Li Shizhen classified these six differently colored zhi as xiancao (仙草; "immortality herbs"), and described the effects of chizhi ("red mushroom"):
Chinese herbology describes the zhi.
The Bencao Gangmu does not list lingzhi as a variety of zhi, but as an alternate name for the shi'er (石耳; "stone ear", Umbilicaria esculenta) lichen. According to Stuart and Smith,
In Chinese art, the lingzhi symbolizes great health and longevity, as depicted in the imperial Forbidden City and Summer Palace. It was a talisman for luck in the traditional culture of China, and the goddess of healing Guanyin is sometimes depicted holding a lingzhi mushroom.
Regional names
Chinese The Old Chinese name for lingzhi was first recorded during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD). In the Chinese language, () is a compound. It comprises (); "spirit, spiritual; soul; miraculous; sacred; divine; mysterious; efficacious; effective)" as, for example, in the name of the Lingyan Temple in Jinan, and (); "(traditional) plant of longevity; fungus; seed; branch; mushroom; excrescence"). Fabrizio Pregadio notes, "The term zhi, which has no equivalent in Western languages, refers to a variety of supermundane substances often described as plants, fungi, or 'excrescences'." Zhi occurs in other Chinese plant names, such as (; "sesame" or "seed"), and was anciently used a phonetic loan character for (; "Angelica iris"). Chinese differentiates Ganoderma species into (; "red mushroom") G. lingzhi, and (; "purple mushroom") Ganoderma sinense.