Ganoderma tsugae Murr. Hemlock Varnish Shelf. Fruit body annual. Cap 5-25cm across, kidney- or fan-shaped; reddish to maroon or brownish, margin often white or yellow; surface smooth to wrinkled with a shiny, lacquered appearance. Tubes up to 1.5cm deep; pale purplish brown. Pores 5-6 per mm, circular to angular; surface cream-colored bruising yellowish or brownish. Stem up to 30-150 x 15-30mm, usually lateral; reddish brown to mahogany or almost black; surface has a highly varnished crust. Flesh up to 5cm thick, upper part soft and spongy, lower part corky when dried; creamy-colored to bud, with a darker layer next to tubes. Spores ellipsoid, blunt at one end, with thick double wall, 9-11 x 6-8µ. Deposit rust-brown. Hyphal structure dimitic; clamps present. Habitat singly or in clusters on dead or dying coniferous wood, especially hemlock and spruce. Found in eastern North America, California, and Arizona. Season May-November. Comment The similar Ganoderma lucidum (Curt. ex Fr.) Karsten grows on deciduous trees. Ganoderma curtisii (Berk.) Murr., which occurs in the South, is probably not a distinct species but a form of Ganoderma lucidum (see our picture with the younger specimens). It has a distinct, usually central stem, and the cap is pallid or bright ochre rather than red-brown. |