Lingzhi (mushroom)

Petter Adolf Karsten named the genus Ganoderma in 1881.[9] English botanist William Curtis gave the fungus its first binomial name, Boletus lucidus, in 1781.[10] The lingzhi's botanical names have Greek and Latin roots. Ganoderma derives from the Greek ganos (γανος; "brightness"), and derma (δερμα; "skin; together; shining skin").[11] The specific epithet, lingzhi, comes from Chinese, meaning "divine mushroom."

With the advent of genome sequencing, the genus Ganoderma has undergone taxonomic reclassification. Prior to genetic analyses of fungi, classification was done according to morphological characteristics such as size and color. The internal transcribed spacer region of the Ganoderma genome is considered to be a standard barcode marker.[12]

It was once thought that Ganoderma 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.[8][13]

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.[14]

Ganoderma lingzhi is found in Asia growing as a parasite or saprotroph on a variety of trees.[15] Ganoderma curtisii and Ganoderma ravenelii are the closest relatives of the lingzhi mushroom in North America.[16]

In the wild, lingzhi grows at the base and stumps of deciduous trees, especially that of the maple.[17] Only two or three out of 10,000 such aged trees will have lingzhi growth, and therefore it is extremely rare in its natural form. Today, lingzhi is effectively cultivated on hardwood logs or sawdust/woodchips.[18]

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  Grown lingzhi Mushroom
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  Depending on environmental or cultivation conditions lingzhi may resemble antlers, with no umbrella cap.

The name of the lingzhi fungus has a two thousand-year-old history. The Old Chinese name 靈芝 was first recorded during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD). In the Chinese language, língzhī (灵芝) is a compound. It comprises líng (灵); "spirit, spiritual; soul; miraculous; sacred; divine; mysterious; efficacious; effective)" as, for example, in the name of the Lingyan Temple in Jinan, and zhī (芝); "(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'."[27] Zhi occurs in other Chinese plant names, such as zhīmá (芝麻; "sesame" or "seed"), and was anciently used a phonetic loan character for zhǐ (芷; "Angelica iris"). Chinese differentiates Ganoderma species into chìzhī (赤芝; "red mushroom") G. lingzhi, and zǐzhī (紫芝; "purple mushroom") Ganoderma sinense.

Lingzhi has several synonyms. Of these, ruìcǎo (瑞草; "auspicious plant") (ruì 瑞; "auspicious; felicitous omen" with the suffix cǎo 草; "plant; herb") is the oldest; the Erya dictionary (c. 3rd century BCE) defines xiú 苬, interpreted as a miscopy of jūn (菌; "mushroom") as zhī (芝; "mushroom"), and the commentary of Guo Pu (276–324) says, "The [zhi] flowers three times in one year. It is a [ruicao] felicitous plant."[28] Other Chinese names for Ganoderma include ruìzhī (瑞芝; "auspicious mushroom"), shénzhī (神芝; "divine mushroom", with shen; "spirit; god' supernatural; divine"), mùlíngzhī (木灵芝) (with "tree; wood"), xiāncǎo (仙草; "immortality plant", with xian; "(Daoism) transcendent; immortal; wizard"), and língzhīcǎo (灵芝草) or zhīcǎo (芝草; "mushroom plant").

Since both Chinese ling and zhi have multiple meanings, lingzhi has diverse English translations. Renditions include "[zhi] possessed of soul power",[29] "Herb of Spiritual Potency" or "Mushroom of Immortality",[1] "Numinous Mushroom",[27] "divine mushroom",[30] "divine fungus",[31] "Magic Fungus",[19] and "Marvelous Fungus".[32]

In English, lingzhi or ling chih (sometimes spelled "ling chi", using the French EFEO Chinese transcription) is a Chinese loanword.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) gives the definition, "The fungus Ganoderma lucidum (actually Ganoderma lingzhi, see Ganoderma lucidum for details], believed in China to confer longevity and used as a symbol of this on Chinese ceramic ware.",[33] and identifies the etymology of the word as Chinese: líng, "divine" + zhī, "fungus". According to the OED, the earliest recorded usage of the Wade–Giles romanization ling chih is 1904,[34] and of the Pinyin lingzhi is 1980.

In addition to the transliterated loanword, English names include "glossy ganoderma" and "shiny polyporus".[35]

Coffee with lingzhi extract

The Japanese word reishi (霊芝) is a Sino-Japanese loanword deriving from the Chinese língzhī (灵芝; 靈芝). Its modern Japanese kanji, 霊, is the shinjitai ("new character form") of the kyūjitai ("old character form"), 靈. Synonyms for reishi are divided between Sino-Japanese borrowings and native Japanese coinages. Sinitic loanwords include literary terms such as zuisō (瑞草, from ruìcǎo; "auspicious plant") and sensō (仙草, from xiāncǎo; "immortality plant"). The Japanese writing system uses shi or shiba (芝) for "grass; lawn; turf", and take or kinoko (茸) for "mushroom" (e.g., shiitake). A common native Japanese name is mannentake (万年茸; "10,000-year mushroom"). Other Japanese terms for reishi include kadodetake (門出茸; "departure mushroom"), hijiridake (聖茸; "sage mushroom"), and magoshakushi (孫杓子; "grandchild ladle").

The Korean name, yeongji (영지; 靈芝) is also borrowed from, so a cognate with, the Chinese word língzhī (灵芝; 靈芝). It is often called yeongjibeoseot (영지버섯; "yeongji mushroom") in Korean, with the addition of the native word beoseot (버섯) meaning "mushroom". Other common names include bullocho (불로초, 不老草; "elixir grass") and jicho (지초; 芝草). According to color, yeongji mushrooms can be classified as jeokji (적지; 赤芝) for "red", jaji (자지; 紫芝) for "purple", heukji (흑지; 黑芝) for "black", cheongji (청지; 靑芝) for "blue" or "green", baekji (백지; 白芝) for "white", and hwangji (황지; 黃芝) for "yellow".

The Thai word het lin chue (เห็ดหลินจือ) is a compound of the native word het (เห็ด) meaning "mushroom" and the loanword lin chue (หลินจือ) from the Chinese língzhī (灵芝; 靈芝).

The Vietnamese language word linh chi is a loanword from Chinese. It is often used with nấm, the Vietnamese word for "mushroom", thus nấm linh chi is the equivalent of "lingzhi mushroom".

Ganoderic acid A, a compound isolated from lingzhi

Ganoderma lucidum contains diverse phytochemicals, including triterpenes (ganoderic acids), which have a molecular structure similar to that of steroid hormones.[36] It also contains phytochemicals found in fungal materials, including polysaccharides (such as beta-glucan), coumarin,[37] mannitol, and alkaloids.[36] Sterols isolated from the mushroom include ganoderol, ganoderenic acid, ganoderiol, ganodermanontriol, lucidadiol, and ganodermadiol.[36]

A 2015 Cochrane database review found insufficient evidence to justify the use of G. lucidum as a first-line cancer treatment.[4][5] It stated that G. lucidum may have "benefit as an alternative adjunct to conventional treatment in consideration of its potential of enhancing tumour response and stimulating host immunity."[5] Existing studies do not support the use of G. lucidum for treatment of risk factors of cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.[6]

Because of its bitter taste,[38] lingzhi is traditionally prepared as a hot water extract product for use in folk medicine.[26] 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.[39] 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).[40]