Ganoderma neojaponicum

Ganoderma neojaponicum Imazeki, Bull. Tokyo Sci. Mus.

Index Fungorum number: 272144; Facesoffungi number: FoF05656

Basidiome annual, stipitate, strongly laccate, corky. Pileus 3–6 × 1–3 cm, up to 0.5 cm thick at the base, reniform to suborbicular to spathulate, upper surface; reddish black (8E8) to brownish-black (6C8), undulate, ferruginous, irregularly ruptured crust overlying the context. Margin; blunt, concolorous with the pileus, lower surface; greyish brown (6E3). Hymenophore up to 12 mm long, indistinctly stratose; pores initially greyish brown (6E3), bruising dark brown (6F6), pores circular, sub circular or isodiametric, 3–5 per mm. Context up to 0.5 cm thick, duplex, dry, upper layer brown (6E4) to dark brown (7F8), fibrous, composed of coarse loose fibrils; lower layer dark brown (7F8), corky. Stipe eccentric, sub cylindrical, concolorous with the pileus, 5 × 8 cm, 0.5 cm at the base. Basidiospores (n = 25) (9.1–)9.5–10.5–13.2(13.5–) × (–5.7)6.3–7.8–8.4(–8.9) μm (Qm = 1.5, Q = 1.1–1.7, with myxosporium). (n = 25) (7.8–)8.1–8.9–9.2(–10.5) × (4.7–)5.1–5.8–6.2(–6.8) μm (Qm = 1.5, Q = 1.2–1.8, without myxosporium), ellipsoid, truncate at the apex, brown (6E6), with a light brown (6D6) eusporium bearing fine, short and distinct echinulae, overlaid by a hyaline myxosporium. Pileipellis a hymeniderm, brownish-orange (6C8), clavate-like cells. Context dimitic; generative hyphae not observed; skeletal hyphae (n = 30) (3.6–5.0–6.2) μm in width, thick-walled, nearly solid, sometimes branched, brownish-orange (6C8); binding hyphae (n = 30) (2.8–4.5–5.4) μm in width, thick-walled, branched, nearly solid, light orange (5A5) to brownish orange (6C8). (Fig. 1)

Habitat:  On a rotten wood, in dry dipterocarp forest and in upper mixed deciduous forest and growing up from soil.

Specimens examined: LAOS, Savannakhet province, Phin district, Nathom Xe village, Phou Xang hae, mixed deciduous forest, 16 58′N–105 89′E, 23 June 2017, P. Phengsintham (GACP17062350, GACP17062355). MYANMAR, 10 September 2014, TC Wen (GACP14091009, GACP14091014).

Notes: Ganoderma neojaponicum was introduced by Imazeki (1939) from Japan and it’s a member of the Ganoderma lucidum species complex (Hattori & Ryvarden 1994). This species is rarely saprotrophic and unique with its slender long spores, a black shiny basidiocarp, slender stipe and host range (dead coniferous trees or bamboos) (Imazeki et al 1988, Hsieh & Yeh 2004). This mushroom is distributed in Asian countries including China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia (Tan et al. 2015), Laos and Myanmar (from Hapuarachchi et al. 2019).