What are the nature, flavor and meridians of Ganoderma lucidum?

Ganoderma lucidum is a very powerful traditional Chinese medicinal material, but for those who do not live in mountainous areas, the chance of seeing wild Ganoderma lucidum is almost zero. However, in some remote mountainous areas, because they have not been affected by the outside world, you may see some wild Ganoderma lucidum on the mountains. So the question is, what are the nature, flavor and meridians of Ganoderma lucidum in traditional Chinese medicine?

Nature and flavor

Warm in nature, light in taste.

Function and indications

Nourishing and strengthening. Used for brain health, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and kidney-tonifying.

Morphological characteristics

The cap is corky, kidney-shaped, reddish brown, reddish purple or dark purple with a lacquer-like luster, annular ridges and radial wrinkles, and varies greatly in size and shape. The cap of large individuals is 20×10cm and about 2cm thick, while the cap of ordinary individuals is 4×3cm and 0.5-1cm thick. There are countless small holes on the bottom, and the tube mouth is white or light brown, with 4-5 holes per millimeter. The tube mouth is round, and the inner wall is the hymenium. Spores are produced at the top of the basidium. The stipe is lateral, rarely eccentric, longer than the diameter of the cap, purple-brown to black, with a lacquer-like luster, and hard. The spores are oval, 8-11×7cm, with two-layer walls, the inner wall is brown with small warts on the surface, and the outer wall is transparent and colorless.

Distribution area

It is mainly produced in Anhui, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan.

Growth environment

In summer and autumn, it mostly grows next to the stumps of broad-leaved trees in the forest, or on logs, standing trees, and fallen trees. It sometimes grows on coniferous trees and is cultivated.

Growth habit

Ganoderma lucidum is a saprophyte, and because it can parasitize on living trees, it is also called a facultative parasite. The growth temperature ranges from 3 to 40°C, with 26 to 28°C being optimal. It grows well when the moisture content of the substrate is close to 200%, the relative humidity of the air is 90%, and the pH is 5-6. Ganoderma lucidum is an aerobic fungus, and there should be sufficient oxygen and scattered light when cultivating its fruiting bodies.

Ganoderma lucidum syrup: 200g Ganoderma lucidum, appropriate amount of preservatives, 600g sucrose. Take Ganoderma lucidum, crush it into coarse powder, soak it in an appropriate amount of ethanol for 7 days, squeeze it, filter it, recover ethanol from the filtrate, and concentrate it to an appropriate amount. Add water to the residue and boil it twice, combine the decoctions, let it stand, filter, concentrate the filtrate to an appropriate amount, add the above-mentioned concentrate, sucrose and preservatives, boil to dissolve, filter, add water to 1000ml, mix well, and you have the product. This product is a brown viscous liquid; it tastes sweet and slightly bitter. The ethanol solution of this product turns blue-purple when added with ninhydrin test solution. The specific gravity should not be less than 1.24. For any artificially cultivated Ganoderma lucidum, the fruiting body mass shall not be less than 50%, and it shall not be attached with culture media such as rice bran and sawdust. Function: sedative and stomachic. Used for neurasthenia, insomnia, and loss of appetite. Oral administration, 20 ml each time, 3 times a day.