{{Short description|Species of fungus}} {{infobox Chinese | t = 靈芝 | s = 灵芝 | p = língzhī | w = ling<sup>2</sup>-chih<sup>1</sup> | mi = {{IPAc-cmn|l|ing|2|.|zhi|1}} | j = ling4zi1 | y = lìhngjī | ci = {{IPAc-yue|l|ing|4|.|z|i|1}} | poj = lêng-chi }} {{Speciesbox | name = Lingzhi | image = Ganoderma lingzhi Wu, Cao & Dai 574883.jpg | genus = Ganoderma | species = sichuanense | authority = J.D. Zhao & X.Q. Zhang (1983)<ref name="Zhao 1983"/> | synonyms = ''Ganoderma lingzhi'' <small>Sheng H. Wu, Y. Cao & Y.C. Dai (2012)</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name="Cao 2012"/><ref name="Du 2023">{{Cite journal |last1=Du |first1=Zhuo |last2=Li |first2=Yi |last3=Wang |first3=Xin-Cun |last4=Wang |first4=Ke |last5=Yao |first5=Yi-Jian |date=2023 |title=Re-Examination of the Holotype of Ganoderma sichuanense (Ganodermataceae, Polyporales) and a Clarification of the Identity of Chinese Cultivated Lingzhi |journal=Journal of Fungi |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3 |page=323 |doi=10.3390/jof9030323 |issn=2309-608X |pmc=10051598 |pmid=36983491 |doi-access=free }}</ref> }} {{Mycomorphbox | name = Lingzhi | whichGills = no | capShape = offset | capShape2 = no | hymeniumType = pores | stipeCharacter = bare | stipeCharacter2 = NA | ecologicalType = saprotrophic | ecologicalType2 = parasitic | sporePrintColor = brown | howEdible = too hard to eat }} '''Lingzhi''' ('''''Ganoderma sichuanense'''''), also known as '''reishi''', is a polypore fungus ("bracket fungus") native to East Asia belonging to the genus ''Ganoderma''.
Its reddish brown, varnished, kidney-shaped cap with bands and peripherally inserted stem give it a distinct fan-like appearance. When fresh, the lingzhi is soft, cork-like, and flat. It lacks gills on its underside, and instead releases its spores via fine pores (80–120 μm) in yellow colors.<ref name="Cao 2012"/>
In nature, it grows at the base and stumps of deciduous trees, especially maples. Only two or three out of 10,000 such trees will have lingzhi growth, and therefore its wild form is rare.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}} Lingzhi may be cultivated on hardwood logs, sawdust, or woodchips.
The lingzhi mushroom is used in traditional Chinese medicine.<ref name="Cao 2012">{{cite journal |last1=Cao |first1=Yun |last2=Wu |first2=Sheng-Hua |last3=Dai |first3=Yu-Cheng |title=Species clarification of the prize medicinal Ganoderma mushroom 'Lingzhi' |journal=Fungal Diversity |year=2012 |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=49–62 |doi=10.1007/s13225-012-0178-5 |s2cid=15239238 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kenneth |first=Jones |title=Reishi: Ancient Herb for Modern Times |year=1990 |publisher=Sylvan Press |page=6}}</ref>
== Taxonomy == Lingzhi, also known as ''reishi'' from its Japanese pronunciation, is the ancient "mushroom of immortality", revered for over 2,000 years (with some evidence suggesting use in Neolithic China 6,800 years ago).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Guoping |last2=Cao |first2=Lijuan |last3=Huang |first3=Luqi |last4=Wang |first4=Yajun |last5=Yuan |first5=Yuan |last6=Han |first6=Dong |last7=Yuan |first7=Bing |last8=Wang |first8=Yeran |last9=Shen |first9=Yueming |date=2018-05-01 |title=Archaeological evidence suggests earlier use of ''Ganoderma'' in Neolithic China |journal=Chinese Science Bulletin |volume=63 |issue=13 |pages=1180–1188 |doi=10.1360/n972018-00188 |s2cid=103581412 |issn=0023-074X|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, as of 2023 there is an ongoing debate on which one of the described ''Ganoderma'' species is the true lingzhi mushroom. It is also likely that a few similar ''Ganoderma'' species were considered interchangeable.
In the scientific literature, the lingzhi mushroom is ambiguously referred to as:
* ''Ganoderma sichuanense'' — the currently accepted name, described by Zhao and Zhang (1983).<ref name="Zhao 1983">{{Cite book |first=Chi-ting |last=Chao |title=Taxonomic studies on the family Ganodermataceae of China II. |oclc=80615364}}</ref> * ''Ganoderma lingzhi'' — described by Cao et al. (2012)<ref name="Cao 2012" /> as a novel species that may be the best fit for traditional definitions of the lingzhi mushroom. However, Du et al. (2023)<ref name="Du 2023" /> found that it is the same species as ''G. sichuanense'', so it is now treated as a later synonym. * ''Ganoderma lucidum'' — the type species of ''Ganoderma'' was first described in 1781 by Curtis as ''Boletus lucidus'' based on European collections. In 1881 Karst designated it as the type species of his new genus ''Ganoderma,'' as ''Ganoderma lucidum''. Early literature used ''G. lucidum'' for collections from China, but it was later established that Asian populations are distinct from European, both morphologically and phylogenetically.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pegler |first1=D. N. |last2=Yao |first2=Y. J. |date=1996 |title=Oriental species of Ganoderma section Ganoderma |journal=Botany and Mycology for the Next Millenium: Collection of Scientific Articles Devoted to the 70th Anniversary of Academician Sytnik KM |publisher=Kholodny NG Institute of Botany, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine |publication-place=Kyiv |pages=336–347}}</ref><ref name="Du 2023" /> As the lingzhi fungus is strongly rooted in culture, the old name persists, even though it is well established that ''G. sichuanense'' and ''G. lucidum'' are distinct species.
One source employed to solve the task of identifying the traditional lingzhi mushroom is the 16th century Chinese herbal compendium, the {{transliteration|zh|Bencao Gangmu}} (1578). There, a number of different lingzhi-like mushrooms defined by color were used for different purposes. No exact current species can be attached to these ancient lingzhi for certain, but according to Dai et al. (2017),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dai |first1=Y.-C. |title=Ganoderma lingzhi (Polyporales, Basidiomycota): the scientific binomial for the widely cultivated medicinal fungus Lingzhi |journal=Mycological Progress |date=2017 |volume=16 |issue=11–12 |pages=1051–1055|doi=10.1007/s11557-017-1347-4 |bibcode=2017MycPr..16.1051D |s2cid=38561105 }}</ref> as well as other researchers, and based on molecular work, red lingzhi is most likely to be ''Ganoderma sichuanense''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dai|first1=Yu-Cheng|last2=Zhou|first2=Li-Wei|last3=Hattori|first3=Tsutomu|last4=Cao|first4=Yun|last5=Stalpers|first5=Joost A.|last6=Ryvarden|first6=Leif|last7=Buchanan|first7=Peter|last8=Oberwinkler|first8=Franz|last9=Hallenberg|first9=Nils|last10=Liu|first10=Pei-Gui|last11=Wu|first11=Sheng-Hua|date=December 2017|title=Ganoderma lingzhi (Polyporales, Basidiomycota): the scientific binomial for the widely cultivated medicinal fungus Lingzhi|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11557-017-1347-4|journal=Mycological Progress|language=en|volume=16|issue=11–12|pages=1051–1055|doi=10.1007/s11557-017-1347-4|bibcode=2017MycPr..16.1051D |s2cid=38561105 |issn=1617-416X|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Cao 2012" />
''Ganoderma sichuanense'' is the most widely found species in Chinese herb shops today,{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} and the fruiting bodies are widely cultivated in China and shipped to many other countries. About 7–10 other ''Ganoderma'' species are also sold in some shops, but have different Chinese and Latin names, and are considered different in their activity and functions. The differences are based on concentrations of triterpenes such as ganoderic acid and its derivatives, which vary widely among species. Research on the genus is ongoing, but a number of recent phylogenetic analyses have been published in recent years.<ref name="Zhou 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Zhou |first1=Li-Wei |last2=Cao |first2=Yun |last3=Wu |first3=Sheng-Hua |last4=Vlasák |first4=Josef |last5=Li |first5=De-Wei |last6=Li |first6=Meng-Jie |last7=Dai |first7=Yu-Cheng |title=Global diversity of the ''Ganoderma lucidum'' complex (Ganodermataceae, Polyporales) inferred from morphology and multilocus phylogeny |journal=Phytochemistry |year=2015 |volume=114 |pages=7–15 |doi=10.1016/j.phytochem.2014.09.023 |pmid=25453909|bibcode=2015PChem.114....7Z |hdl=11104/0249077 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
=== Nomenclature === Petter Adolf Karsten first described the genus ''Ganoderma'' in 1881.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Steyaert |first=R. L. |title=Note on the nomenclature of fungi and, incidentally, of ''Ganoderma lucidum'' |journal=Taxon |year=1961 |volume=10 |issue=8 |pages=251–252 |url=http://www.iapt-taxon.org/historic/Congress/IBC_1964/nom_fung.pdf|doi=10.2307/1216350 |jstor=1216350 |bibcode=1961Taxon..10..251S }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Karsten |first=PA. |title=Enumeratio Boletinearum et Polyporearum Fennicarum, systemate novo dispositarum |journal=Revue Mycologique, Toulouse |year=1881 |volume=3 |issue=9 |pages=16–19 |language=la}}</ref> He designated as its type species a European fungus named ''Boletus lucidus'' by English botanist William Curtis in 1781. Since then, many other ''Ganoderma'' species have been described.
The lingzhi's botanical names have Greek and Latin roots. ''Ganoderma'' derives from the Greek {{transliteration|grc|ganos}} ({{lang|grc|γανος}}; {{gloss|brightness}}), and {{transliteration|grc|derma}} ({{lang|grc|δερμα}}; {{gloss|skin; together; shining skin}}).<ref name="Liddell 1980">{{cite book |last1=Liddell |first1=Henry George |last2=Scott |first2=Robert |author-link1=Henry George Liddell |author-link2=Robert Scott (philologist) |title=A Greek-English Lexicon |year=1980 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-19-910207-5 |edition=Abridged|title-link=A Greek-English Lexicon }}</ref> The specific epithet, ''sichuanense'', comes from the Sichuan Chinese province. The common name, lingzhi, comes from Chinese, meaning {{gloss|divine mushroom}}.
=== Varieties === It was once thought that ''G. 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.<ref name="Zhou 2015" /><ref>{{cite web |title=''Ganoderma sessile'' |url=http://www.mycobank.org/Biolomics.aspx?Table=Mycobank&MycoBankNr_=237038 |website=MycoBank |publisher=International Mycological Association}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yajima |first1=Yuka |last2=Miyazaki |first2=Minoru |last3=Okita |first3=Noriyasu |last4=Hoshino |first4=Tamotsu |title=Production of Ginkgo Leaf−Shaped Basidiocarps of the Lingzhi or Reishi Medicinal Mushroom ''Ganoderma lucidum'' (Higher Basidiomycetes), Containing High Levels of α- and β-D-Glucan and Ganoderic Acid A |journal=International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms |year=2013 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=175–182 |doi=10.1615/IntJMedMushr.v15.i2.60|pmid=23557369 }}</ref>
== Distribution and habitat == ''Ganoderma lingzhi'' is found in East Asia growing as a parasite or saprotroph on a variety of trees.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.3389/fmicb.2018.01557 | doi-access=free | title=Identifying the "Mushroom of Immortality": Assessing the Ganoderma Species Composition in Commercial Reishi Products | year=2018 | last1=Loyd | first1=Andrew L. | last2=Richter | first2=Brantlee S. | last3=Jusino | first3=Michelle A. | last4=Truong | first4=Camille | last5=Smith | first5=Matthew E. | last6=Blanchette | first6=Robert A. | last7=Smith | first7=Jason A. | journal=Frontiers in Microbiology | volume=9 | article-number=1557 | pmid=30061872 | pmc=6055023 }}</ref> ''Ganoderma curtisii'' and ''Ganoderma ravenelii'' are the closest relatives of the lingzhi mushroom in North America.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0199738 | doi-access=free | title=Elucidating "lucidum": Distinguishing the diverse laccate Ganoderma species of the United States | year=2018 | last1=Loyd | first1=A. L. | last2=Barnes | first2=C. W. | last3=Held | first3=B. W. | last4=Schink | first4=M. J. | last5=Smith | first5=M. E. | last6=Smith | first6=J. A. | last7=Blanchette | first7=R. A. | journal=PLOS ONE | volume=13 | issue=7 | article-number=e0199738 | pmid=30020945 | pmc=6051579 | bibcode=2018PLoSO..1399738L }}</ref>
In the wild, lingzhi grows at the base and stumps of deciduous trees, especially maples.<ref>{{cite book |author=National Audubon Society |title=Field Guide to Mushrooms |date=1993}}</ref> 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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}} Today, lingzhi is effectively cultivated on hardwood logs or sawdust/woodchips.<ref name="Veena 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Veena |first1=S. S. |last2=Pandey |first2=Meera |title=Paddy Straw as a Substrate for the Cultivation of Lingzhi or Reishi Medicinal Mushroom, ''Ganoderma lucidum'' (W.Curt. :Fr.) P. Karst. in India |journal=International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms |year=2011 |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=397–400 |doi=10.1615/intjmedmushr.v13.i4.100 |pmid=2164770}}</ref>
<gallery> File:Jreishi2.jpg|Grown lingzhi mushroom File:Hokkaido_Reishi's_Deer_Horn_Shape_Reishi.JPG|Depending on growing conditions, lingzhi may resemble antlers, with no umbrella cap. </gallery>
== Uses ==
=== Chemistry === thumb|Ganoderic acid A, a compound isolated from lingzhi ''Ganoderma lucidum'' contains diverse chemicals, including triterpenes (ganoderic acids), which have a molecular structure similar to that of steroid hormones.<ref name="Paterson">{{cite journal |last=Paterson |first=R. Russell M. |year=2006 |title=Ganoderma – A therapeutic fungal biofactory |journal=Phytochemistry |volume=67 |issue=18 |pages=1985–2001 |bibcode=2006PChem..67.1985P |doi=10.1016/j.phytochem.2006.07.004 |pmid=16905165 |hdl-access=free |hdl=1822/5522}}</ref> It also contains phytochemicals found in fungal materials, including polysaccharides (such as beta-glucan), coumarin,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kohguchi |first1=Michihiro |last2=Kunikata |first2=Toshio |last3=Watanabe |first3=Hikaru |last4=Kudo |first4=Naoki |last5=Shibuya |first5=Takashi |last6=Ishihara |first6=Tatsuya |last7=Iwaki |first7=Kanso |last8=Ikeda |first8=Masao |last9=Fukuda |first9=Shigeharu |last10=Kurimoto |first10=Masashi |year=2014 |title=Immuno-potentiating Effects of the Antler-shaped Fruiting Body of (Rokkaku-Reishi) |journal=Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=881–887 |doi=10.1271/bbb.68.881 |pmid=15118318 |doi-access=free}}</ref> mannitol, and alkaloids.<ref name="Paterson" /> Sterols isolated from the mushroom include ganoderol, ganoderenic acid, ganoderiol, ganodermanontriol, lucidadiol, and ganodermadiol.<ref name="Paterson" />
=== Folk medicine ===
Because of its bitter taste,<ref>{{cite book |last=Meuninck |first=Jim |title=Foraging Mushrooms Oregon: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Mushrooms |date=2017 |publisher=Falcon Guides |isbn=978-1-4930-2669-2 |page=56}}</ref> lingzhi is traditionally prepared as a hot water extract product for use in folk medicine.<ref name="Smith 2001" /> 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.<ref name="Wachtel-Galor 2011">{{cite book |last1=Wachtel-Galor |first1=Sissi |title=Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects |last2=Yuen |first2=John |last3=Buswell |first3=John A. |last4=Benzie |first4=Iris F. F. |publisher=CRC Press/Taylor & Francis |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4398-0713-2 |editor1-last=Benzie |editor1-first=Iris F. F. |edition=2nd |location=Boca Raton, FL |chapter=Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi or Reishi): A Medicinal Mushroom |pmid=22593926 |editor2-last=Wachtel-Galor |editor2-first=Sissi |chapter-url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92757/}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-09-19 |title=How To Make A Medicinal Mushroom Double-Extraction Tincture |url=https://theherbalacademy.com/make-medicinal-mushroom-double-extraction-tincture/ |access-date=2021-01-05 |website=Herbal Academy |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Other uses === Lingzhi is commercially manufactured and sold. Since the early 1970s, most lingzhi is cultivated. Lingzhi can grow on substrates such as sawdust, grain, and wood logs. After formation of the fruiting body, lingzhi is most commonly harvested, dried, ground, and processed into tablets or capsules to be directly ingested or made into tea or soup. Other lingzhi products include processed fungal mycelia or spores.<ref name="Wachtel-Galor 2011" /> Lingzhi is also used to create mycelium bricks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andy Corbley |date=2020-12-10 |title=Stanford Designer is Making Bricks Out of Fast-Growing Mushrooms That Are Stronger than Concrete |url=https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/phil-ross-invents-mycelium-mushroom-bricks-arch/ |access-date=2021-01-05 |website=Good News Network |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Cultural significance== {{Further|Zhi (excrescences)}} [[File:ChenhungshoGANODERMA.jpg|thumb|Tao Yuanming holding Lingzhi by Chen Hongshou<ref>[https://library.orientmuseum.ru/images/pdf/1977____9.pdf Философско-эстетический смысл так называемого «божественного гриба» («линчжи») в искусстве Китая] / ''Завадская Е. В.'' // Научные сообщения Государственного музея искусства народов Востока // М.: Наука, 1977. — Вып. 9. — (с. 40—46) — С. 44. (табл. III) С. 179.</ref>]]
In the chronicles of {{transliteration|zh|Shiji}} (1st century CE from Sima Qian), the initial use of nearby separately related words with {{lang-zh|芝|zhi|woody mushroom|label=none}} and {{lang-zh|靈|ling|divine spirit|label=none}} are attested to in the poems of Emperor Wu of Han. Later, in the 1st century CE through the poetry of Ban Gu, occurred the first combination of the characters {{lang|zh|靈芝}} together into a single word, in an ode dedicated to Lingzhi.<ref name="Zavadskaya;1977">[https://library.orientmuseum.ru/images/pdf/1977____9.pdf Философско-эстетический смысл так называемого «божественного гриба» («линчжи») в искусстве Китая] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117200910/https://library.orientmuseum.ru/images/pdf/1977____9.pdf |date=2021-11-17 }} // Научные сообщения Государственного музея искусства народов Востока // М.: Наука, 1977. — Вып. 9. — С. 40—46.</ref><ref>Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality / ''Wasson R. G.'' // New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972. — [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.449342/page/n121/mode/2up P. 85.] — [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.449342/page/n127/mode/2up P. 89.]</ref>
Since ancient times, Taoist temples were called "the abode of mushrooms" and according to their mystical teachings, the use of woody mushrooms {{transliteration|zh|zhi}} (Ganoderma) or {{transliteration|zh|lingzhi}} "spirits mushroom", in particular making from it a concentrated decoction of hallucinogenic action,<ref name="Zavadskaya;1977" /> gave followers the opportunity to see spirits or become spirits themselves by receiving the magical energy of the immortals {{transliteration|zh|xians}}, located on the "fields of grace" in the heavenly "mushroom fields" ({{transliteration|zh|zhi tian}}).<ref>Китай: колокольца в пыли. Странствия мага и интеллектуала// М.: Алетейа, 2005. — 376 с. — ISBN 5-98639-025-3 — С. 74, 356, 367.</ref>
In the philosophical work {{transliteration|zh|Huainanzi}}, it is said that the lingzhi mushroom is personification of nobility; from which shamans brewed a psychedelic drink.<ref>Философы из Хуайнани. Хуайнаньцзы / Пер. Л. Е. Померанцевой. Сост. И. В. Ушаков // М: Мысль, 2004. — 430 с. — {{ISBN|5-244-00984-2}} — С. 267. «''Шаманок (Ушань) — гора в пров. Сычуань. Из гриба цзычжи (другое название — линчжи) мудрецы делали дурманящий напиток. О дереве гаося аналогичных сведений как будто нет. Комментарий говорит, что это высокое дерево с плотной шелковистой древесиной белого цвета и что гаося и цзычжи символы благородства, а чернобыльники и полынь — символы ничтожества.» — С. 50: «На горе Шаманок послушны ветру и покорны огню как дерево гаося и гриб цзычжи, так и чернобыльник и полынь все погибают вместе.»''</ref><ref>Поздние даосы о природе, обществе и искусстве («Хуайнаньцзы» — II в. до н. э.) / ''Померанцева Л. Е.'' // М.: Издательство Московского университета, 1979. — 240 с. — С. 145, 220.</ref>
The {{transliteration|zh|Shennong bencao jing}} (''Divine Farmer's Classic of Pharmaceutics'') of {{c.|200–250 CE}} classifies {{transliteration|zh|zhi}} into six color categories, each of which is believed to benefit the {{transliteration|zh|qi}}, or "life force", in a different part of the body: {{transliteration|zh|qingzhi}} ({{lang|zh|青芝}}; {{gloss|green mushroom}}) for the liver, {{transliteration|zh|chizhi}} ({{lang|zh|赤芝}}; {{gloss|red mushroom}}) for the heart, {{transliteration|zh|huangzhi}} ({{lang|zh|黃芝}}; {{gloss|yellow mushroom}}) for the spleen, {{transliteration|zh|baizhi}} ({{lang|zh|白芝}}; {{gloss|white mushroom}}) for the lungs, {{transliteration|zh|heizhi}} ({{lang|zh|黑芝}}; {{gloss|black mushroom}}) for the kidneys, and {{transliteration|zh|zizhi}} ({{lang|zh|紫芝}}; {{gloss|purple mushroom}}) for the Essence. Commentators identify the red {{transliteration|zh|chizhi}}, or {{transliteration|zh|danzhi}} ({{lang|zh|丹芝}}; {{gloss|cinnabar mushroom}}), as the lingzhi.<ref name="EASTM 37 (2013)/2014: 36-68" /><ref name="DOI: 10.1039/d0ra07219b" /> {{Blockquote|text=''Chi Zhi'' (''Ganoderma rubra'') is bitter and balanced. It mainly treats binding in the chest, boosts the heart qi, supplements the center, sharpens the wits, and [causes people] not to forget [i.e., improves the memory]. Protracted taking may make the body light, prevent senility, and prolong life so as to make one an immortal. Its other name is ''Dan Zhi'' (Cinnabar Ganoderma). It grows in mountains and valleys.<ref>{{cite book |translator-last=Yang |translator-first=Shouzhong |title=The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica: A Translation of the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing |year=1998 |publisher=Blue Poppy Press |pages=17–18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NjC-eTffFeQC|isbn=978-0-936185-96-5 }}</ref>}}
In the Taoist treatise of {{transliteration|zh|Baopuzi}} from Ge Hong, the lingzhi is used for immortality.<ref>[https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/47515 Li Bo Unkempt] / ''Kidder Smith, Mike Zhai'' // Punctum Books, 2021. — {{ISBN|9781953035417|9781953035424}}; {{doi|10.21983/P3.0322.1.00}}. — pp. 137, 405.</ref><ref name="EASTM 37 (2013)/2014: 36-68">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20211112220310/http://www.eastm.org/index.php/journal/article/view/649/563 Ancient Chinese People's Knowledge of Macrofungi during the Period from 220 to 589]}} / ''Lu Di'' // «East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine», № 37 (2013)/2014: 36-68.</ref><ref name="DOI: 10.1039/d0ra07219b">[https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2020/ra/d0ra07219b Traditional uses, chemical components and pharmacological activities of the genus Ganoderma P. Karst.: a review] / ''Li Wang, Jie-qing Li, Ji Zhang, Zhi-min Li, Hong-gao Liu, Yuan-zhong Wang'' // RSC Advances: Issue 69, 2020.</ref>
The (1596) {{transliteration|zh|Bencao Gangmu}} (''Compendium of Materia Medica'') has a {{transliteration|zh|Zhi}} ({{lang|zh|芝}}) category that includes six types of {{transliteration|zh|zhi}} (calling the green, red, yellow, white, black, and purple mushrooms of the {{transliteration|zh|Shennong bencao jing}} the ''liuzhi'' (六芝; "six mushrooms") and sixteen other fungi, mushrooms, and lichens, including ''mu'er'' (木耳; "wood ear"; "cloud ear fungus", ''Auricularia auricula-judae''). The author Li Shizhen classified these six differently colored ''zhi'' as ''xiancao'' (仙草; "immortality herbs"), and described the effects of ''chizhi'' ("red mushroom"): {{Blockquote|text=It positively affects the life-energy, or ''Qi'' of the heart, repairing the chest area and benefiting those with a knotted and tight chest. Taken over a long period of time, the agility of the body will not cease, and the years are lengthened to those of the Immortal Fairies.<ref>{{cite wikisource |last=Li |first=Shizhen |authorlink=Li Shizhen |title=本草綱目 |trans-title=Compendium of Materia Medica |wslink=本草綱目/菜之三 |wslanguage=zh |quote=胸中結, 益心氣, 補中, 增智慧, 不忘。久食, 輕身不老, 延年神仙。}}</ref><ref name="Halpern 2007">{{cite book |last=Halpern |first=Georges M. |title=Healing Mushrooms |year=2007 |publisher=Square One Publishers |isbn=978-0-7570-0196-3 |page=59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FlrpouUh740C}}</ref>}}
Chinese herbology describes the ''zhi''. {{Blockquote|text=芝 (Chih) is defined in the classics as the plant of immortality, and it is therefore always considered to be a felicitous one. It is said to absorb the earthy vapors and to leave a heavenly atmosphere. For this reason, it is called 靈芝 (Ling-chih.) It is large and of a branched form, and probably represents Clavaria or Sparassis. Its form is likened to that of coral.<ref name="Stuart 1911">{{cite book |last1=Stuart |first1=G. A. |last2=Smith |first2=F. Porter |title=Chinese Materia Medica, Pt. 1, Vegetable Kingdom |year=1911 |publisher=Presbyterian Mission Press |pages=271, 274 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/66623|isbn= }}</ref>}}
The ''Bencao Gangmu'' does not list ''lingzhi'' as a variety of ''zhi'', but as an alternate name for the ''shi'er'' (石耳; "stone ear", ''Umbilicaria esculenta'') lichen. According to Stuart and Smith, {{Blockquote|text=[The 石耳 Shih-erh is] edible, and has all of the good qualities of the 芝 (Chih), it is also being used in the treatment of gravel, and said to benefit virility. It is specially used in hemorrhage from the bowels and prolapse of the rectum. While the name of this would indicate that it was one of the Auriculariales, the fact that the name 靈芝 (Ling-chih) is also given to it might place it among the Clavariaceae.<ref name="Stuart 1911" />}}
In Chinese art, the ''lingzhi'' symbolizes great health and longevity, as depicted in the imperial Forbidden City and Summer Palace.<ref name="Smith 2001">{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=John |last2=Rowan |first2=Neil |last3=Sullivan |first3=Richard |title=Medicinal mushrooms: their therapeutic properties and current medical usage with special emphasis on cancer treatments |journal=Cancer Research UK |year=2001 |pages=28, 31 |url=http://sci.cancerresearchuk.org/labs/med_mush/med_mush.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831052918/http://sci.cancerresearchuk.org/labs/med_mush/med_mush.html |archive-date=31 August 2009}}</ref> It was a talisman for luck in the traditional culture of China, and the goddess of healing Guanyin is sometimes depicted holding a lingzhi mushroom.<ref name="Halpern 2007" />
=== Regional names === {{Infobox Chinese | title = Regional names | hide = no | name1 = Historical name | t = {{linktext|靈芝}} | l = spirit mushroom | mc = {{IPA|/leŋ.t͡ɕɨ/}} | oc-zz = {{IPA|/*reːŋ.tjɯ/}} | altname = Chinese name | t2 = 靈芝 | s2 = 灵芝 | p2 = língzhī | j2 = ling<sup>4</sup> zi<sup>1</sup> | w2 = ling<sup>2</sup>-chih<sup>1</sup> | hangul = 영지 | hanja = 靈芝 | rr = yeongji | mr = yŏngji | kanji = 霊芝 | hiragana = れいし | katakana = レイシ | revhep = reishi | tha = หลินจือ | rtgs = lin chue | vie = linh chi | chunom = 靈芝 }} {{Wiktionary|靈芝|영지|霊芝}}
==== Chinese ====<!-- Courtesy note per WP:RSECT: Divine mushroom and many other redirects link to this section --> The Old Chinese name for lingzhi {{lang|och|靈芝}} was first recorded during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD). In the Chinese language, {{transliteration|zh|língzhī}} ({{lang|zh|靈芝}}) is a compound. It comprises {{transliteration|zh|líng}} ({{lang|zh|靈}}); "spirit, spiritual; soul; miraculous; sacred; divine; mysterious; efficacious; effective)" as, for example, in the name of the Lingyan Temple in Jinan, and {{transliteration|zh|zhī}} ({{lang|zh|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'."<ref name="Pregadio 2008">{{cite book |editor-last=Pregadio |editor-first=Fabrizio |editor-link=Fabrizio Pregadio |title=The Encyclopedia of Taoism |year=2008 |publisher=Routledge |page=1271 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MioRmEq2xHUC&pg=PP1 |quote=''Zhi'' 芝 numinous mushrooms; excrescences|isbn=978-0-203-69548-7 }}</ref> ''Zhi'' occurs in other Chinese plant names, such as {{transliteration|zh|zhīmá}} ({{lang|zh|芝麻}}; "sesame" or "seed"), and was anciently used a phonetic loan character for {{transliteration|zh|zhǐ }} ({{lang|zh|芷}}; "Angelica iris"). Chinese differentiates ''Ganoderma'' species into {{transliteration|zh|chìzhī}} ({{lang|zh|赤芝}}; "red mushroom") ''G. lingzhi'', and {{transliteration|zh|zǐzhī}} ({{lang|zh|紫芝}}; "purple mushroom") ''Ganoderma sinense''.
Lingzhi has several synonyms. Of these, {{transliteration|zh|ruìcǎo}} ({{lang|zh|瑞草}}; "auspicious plant") ({{transliteration|zh|ruì}} {{lang|zh|瑞}}; "auspicious; felicitous omen" with the suffix {{transliteration|zh|cǎo}} {{lang|zh|草}}; "plant; herb") is the oldest; the ''Erya'' dictionary (c. 3rd century BCE) defines {{transliteration|zh|xiú}} {{lang|zh|苬}}, interpreted as a miscopy of {{transliteration|zh|jūn}} ({{lang|zh|菌}}; "mushroom") as {{transliteration|zh|zhī}} ({{lang|zh|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."<ref>{{cite book |last=Bretschneider |first=E. |title=Botanicon Sinicum |date=1893 |publisher=Kelly & Walsh |page=40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_UIAAAAIAAJ}}</ref> Other Chinese names for ''Ganoderma'' include {{transliteration|zh|ruìzhī}} ({{lang|zh|瑞芝}}; "auspicious mushroom"), {{transliteration|zh|shénzhī}} ({{lang|zh|神芝}}; "divine mushroom", with shen; "spirit; god' supernatural; divine"), {{transliteration|zh|mùlíngzhī}} ({{lang|zh|木靈芝}}) (with "tree; wood"), {{transliteration|zh|xiāncǎo}} ({{lang|zh|仙草}}; "immortality plant", with xian; "(Daoism) transcendent; immortal; wizard"), and {{transliteration|zh|língzhīcǎo}} ({{lang|zh|靈芝草}}) or {{transliteration|zh|zhīcǎo}} ({{lang|zh|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",<ref>{{cite book |last=Groot |first=Johann Jacob Maria de |title=The Religious System of China. Its ancient forms, evolution, history and present aspect. Manners, customs and social institutions connected therewith |year=1892–1910 |publisher=Brill Publishers |location=Leiden |volume=IV |page=307 |url=http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/groot_jjm_de/religious_system_of_china/religious_system.html |archive-date=2024-10-07 |access-date=2010-11-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007100252/http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/groot_jjm_de/religious_system_of_china/religious_system.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> "Herb of Spiritual Potency" or "Mushroom of Immortality",<ref name="Arora">{{cite book |last=Arora |first=David |title=Mushrooms demystified: a comprehensive guide to the fleshy fungi |year=1986 |publisher=Ten Speed Press |isbn=978-0-89815-169-5 |edition=2nd |url=https://archive.org/details/mushroomsdemysti00aror_0 }}</ref> "Numinous Mushroom",<ref name="Pregadio 2008" /> "divine mushroom",<ref>{{cite book |last=Hu |first=Shiu-ying |title=Food Plants of China |year=2006 |publisher=Chinese University Press |page=268 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2OiYydyrsygC&pg=PA268|isbn=978-962-996-229-6 }}</ref> "divine fungus",<ref>{{cite book |last=Bedini |first=Silvio A. |title=The Trail of Time |year=1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xdVkzs6iI1YC&pg=PA113|isbn=978-0-521-37482-8 }}</ref> "Magic Fungus",<ref name="Knechtges 1996">{{cite book |last=Knechtges |first=David R. |title=Wen Xuan or Selections of Refined Literature |year=1996 |volume=3 |publisher=Princeton University Press |pages=201, 211 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GYJi0OkKFJIC|isbn=978-0-691-02126-3 }}</ref> and "Marvelous Fungus".<ref>{{cite book |last=Schipper |first=Kristofer M. |title=The Taoist Body |year=1993 |publisher=University of California Press |page=174}}</ref>
==== English ==== In English, ''lingzhi'' or ''ling chih'' (sometimes spelled "''ling chi''", using the French EFEO Chinese transcription) is a Chinese loanword. It is also commonly referred to as "''reishi''", which is loaned from Japanese.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Ganoderma lucidum|title=The Fungal Pharmacy: The Complete Guide to Medicinal Mushrooms & Lichens of North America|author-last=Rogers|author-first=Robert|place=BErkeley, CA|publisher=North Atlantic Books|date=2011|isbn=978-1-55643-953-7|pages=172–185}}</ref>
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.",<ref>{{cite book |title=Oxford English Dictionary |year=2009 |edition=CD-ROM |version=4.0 |chapter=ling chih|title-link=Oxford English Dictionary }}</ref> 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,<ref>{{cite book |last=Bushell |first=Stephen Wootton |author-link=Stephen Wootton Bushell |title=Chinese Art |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |year=1904 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ost-art-chinese_art/page/n316 148] |url=https://archive.org/details/ost-art-chinese_art}} (Victoria and Albert Museum); This context describes the ''lingzhi'' fungus and ruyi scepter as Daoist symbols of longevity on a jade vase.</ref> and of the Pinyin ''lingzhi'' is 1980.
In addition to the transliterated loanwords, English names include "glossy ganoderma" and "shiny polyporus".<ref>{{cite web |title=Names of a Selection of Asian Fungi |url=http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Fungi_Asian.html |website=Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database |publisher=University of Melbourne |date=18 February 1999}}</ref>
==== Japanese ==== The Japanese word {{transliteration|ja|reishi}} ({{lang|ja|霊芝}}) is a Sino-Japanese loanword deriving from the Chinese {{transliteration|zh|língzhī}} ({{lang|zh-Hans|灵芝}}; {{lang|zh-Hant|靈芝}}). Its modern Japanese kanji, {{lang|ja-Hani|霊}}, is the shinjitai ("new character form") of the kyūjitai ("old character form"), {{lang|ja-Hant|靈}}. Synonyms for ''reishi'' are divided between Sino-Japanese borrowings and native Japanese coinages. Sinitic loanwords include literary terms such as {{transliteration|ja|zuisō}} ({{lang|ja|瑞草}}, from {{transliteration|zh|ruìcǎo}}; "auspicious plant") and {{transliteration|ja|sensō}} ({{lang|ja|仙草}}, from {{transliteration|zh|xiāncǎo}}; "immortality plant"). The Japanese writing system uses {{transliteration|ja|shi}} or {{transliteration|ja|shiba}} ({{lang|ja|芝}}) for "grass; lawn; turf", and ''take'' or {{transliteration|ja|kinoko}} ({{lang|ja|茸}}) for "mushroom" (e.g., shiitake). A common native Japanese name is {{transliteration|ja|mannentake}} ({{lang|ja|万年茸}}; "10,000-year mushroom"). Other Japanese terms for ''reishi'' include {{transliteration|ja|kadodetake}} ({{lang|ja|門出茸}}; "departure mushroom"), {{transliteration|ja|hijiridake}} ({{lang|ja|聖茸}}; "sage mushroom"), and {{transliteration|ja|magoshakushi}} ({{lang|ja|孫杓子}}; "grandchild ladle").
==== Korean ==== The Korean name, {{transliteration|ko|yeongji}} ({{Korean|hangul=영지|hanja=靈芝}}) is also borrowed from, so a cognate with, the Chinese word {{transliteration|zh|língzhī}} ({{lang|zh-Hans|灵芝}}; {{lang|zh-Hant|靈芝}}). It is often called ''yeongjibeoseot'' ({{lang|ko|영지버섯}}; "''yeongji'' mushroom") in Korean, with the addition of the native word {{transliteration|ko|beoseot}} ({{lang|ko|버섯}}) meaning "mushroom". Other common names include {{transliteration|ko|bullocho}} ({{Korean|hangul=불로초|hanja=不老草|labels=no}}; "elixir grass") and {{transliteration|ko|jicho}} ({{Korean|hangul=지초|hanja=芝草|labels=no}}). According to color, ''yeongji'' mushrooms can be classified as {{transliteration|ko|jeokji}} ({{Korean|hangul=적지|hanja=赤芝|labels=no}}) for "red", {{transliteration|ko|jaji}} ({{Korean|hangul=자지|hanja=紫芝|labels=no}}) for "purple", {{transliteration|ko|heukji}} ({{Korean|hangul=흑지|hanja=黑芝|labels=no}}) for "black", {{transliteration|ko|cheongji}} ({{Korean|hangul=청지|hanja=靑芝|labels=no}}) for "blue" or "green", {{transliteration|ko|baekji}} ({{Korean|hangul=백지|hanja=白芝|labels=no}}) for "white", and {{transliteration|ko|hwangji}} ({{Korean|hangul=황지|hanja=黃芝|labels=no}}) for "yellow". South Korea produces over 25,000 tons of mushrooms every year.
==== Thai ==== The Thai word {{transliteration|th|het lin chue}} ({{lang|th|เห็ดหลินจือ}}) is a compound of the native word {{transliteration|th|het}} ({{lang|th|เห็ด}}) meaning "mushroom" and the loanword {{transliteration|th|lin chue}} ({{lang|th|หลินจือ}}) from the Chinese {{transliteration|zh|língzhī}} ({{lang|zh-Hans|灵芝}}; {{lang|zh-Hant|靈芝}}).
==== Vietnamese ==== The Vietnamese language word {{lang|vi|linh chi}} is a loanword from Chinese. It is often used with {{lang|vi|nấm}}, the Vietnamese word for "mushroom", thus {{lang|vi|nấm linh chi}} is the equivalent of "lingzhi mushroom".
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Medicinal herbs & fungi}} {{Non-timber forest products}} {{Taxonbar|from1=Q271098|from2=Q97958947}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Dietary supplements Category:Fungi described in 2012 Category:Fungi in cultivation Category:Fungi of Asia Category:Fungi used in traditional Chinese medicine Category:Ganoderma Category:Medicinal fungi Category:Non-timber forest products Category:Fungi used for fiber dyes