A colorful fungus

On a fallen tree trunk in Great Hills Park on October 6th I found an attractive fungus I don’t recall seeing before. It turns out not to be edible, but it does have appetizing colors, don’t you think?

From looking at the photograph, Texas mushroom experts David and Patricia Lewis tell me that the fungus is probably Ganoderma lucidum or the very similar G. curtisii. According to the relevant Wikipedia article, Ganoderma lucidum has “a worldwide distribution in both tropical and temperate geographical regions,” and it has long been used in Oriental medicine.

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I’m attending the Native Plant Society of Texas symposium all day today. You’re welcome to leave comments, but I may be late in replying.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman