Ganoderma applanatum

Morphological Features:

Carpophore of extraordinary dimensions, commonly reaching 50 cm in width, with a projection of over 25 cm, and a thickness of 10 cm. It is shelf-shaped or semicircular, and flat, but its surface is traversed by a series of concentric grooves, and it bulges or dents irregularly. Furthermore, it possesses a varnished coating that can be up to half a centimeter thick, giving it a reddish-brown color; over time, it turns dark brown. During the growth phase, the margin of the pileus is whitish, but when growth ceases, it becomes the same color as the rest.

Hymenium composed of several layers of tubes arranged in strata, due to the perennial nature of the carpophore, but the tubes are renewed annually, forming a layer of flesh that precisely separates the tubes of each year. These tubes are long, over 1 cm, becoming reddish-brown, while the pores are very small and rounded, 5 to 7 per mm, white when young, then concolorous.

Stipe absent.

Flesh corky, with a consistency similar to cork or the wood itself, less thick than it may appear, brown in color, typically bearing whitish crusts typical of this species.

Habitat:

Fruiting on the wood of deciduous trees, especially oaks and beeches, behaving either parasitically or saprotrophically. As these are perennial carpophores, it is evident that they can be found throughout the year, being a frequent species in our forests.

Observations:

This fungus is characterized by its large size, flattened shape, and white crusts in the flesh, among other features. To give an idea of its dimensions, in the 1990s, when we attended mycological competitions, we had a Ganoderma applanatum that required several people to load it into the van. Ganoderma adpersum is very similar, but its crust is twice as thick as this one, and it lacks such a flattened shape; Ganoderma pfeifferi differs in that it lacks a separating layer between the various strata of tubes.