Ganoderma applanatum, the artist's conk, is a perennial polypore with a hard, dull (not varnished) brown upper surface and a white pore surface that stains brown when scratched, which allows drawings to be etched into it. It is saprobic and sometimes parasitic, causing a white to straw-colored rot of sapwood and heartwood in hardwoods and occasionally conifers. Individual conks persist for years, adding a new tube layer each season, and release large quantities of brown spores that often dust the cap.
Inedible: too hard and woody to eat and indigestible raw, though used as a flavor enhancer in some Asian cooking. In Chinese medicine (as shu-she-ling-zhi) it has been prepared as a decoction for indigestion, pain and other complaints; it is not a food mushroom.
Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.
Mycology is an evolving science: names, classifications and safety information change as research advances. Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
Habitat
On logs, stumps and wounds of living trees. Beech and poplar are the most frequent hosts; also recorded on alder, apple, elm, buckeye and horse chestnut, maple, oak, walnut, willow and occasionally conifers such as western hemlock, Douglas-fir and spruce. Perennial, present year-round.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan; common and widely distributed in North America and Europe.
Characteristics
Cap: 3-30 cm wide, exceptionally to 75 cm; 1-10 cm thick; semicircular to irregular, flat; surface dull and unvarnished, brownish to grayish brown, often furrowed in concentric zones, frequently dusted with brown spores. Pores: White when fresh, bruising brown to dark brown; 4-6 per mm; tubes in annual layers, each 0.5-2 cm deep. Stem: Usually absent; if present lateral and very stubby. Flesh: Woody, brown to cinnamon brown; older tube layers often filled with white mycelium. Chemical reactions: KOH instantly black on cap, flesh and tubes. Spore print: Brown to reddish brown. Spores: 6-9 x 4-5 um, ellipsoid with a truncate end, double-walled. Key features: Dull brown crust; white pore surface that bruises brown; perennial layered tubes.
