Ganoderma australe/adspersum possibly

 

This perennial bracket is a common feature of the basal area of many broad-leaved trees in the UK. Perhaps G. adspersum is the better name for the examples found in the UK? 

I THINK this is a fairly typical shot. This species is separated morphologically from the closely related Ganoderma applanatum by its thicker cuticle or upper surface, consistently over 1 mm thick. Ganoderma australe/adspersum is by far the commoner, and thought to be most aggressively parasitic. Ganoderma applanatum is more generally confined in its saprophytic role to already dead and moribund trees. 

Where targets are at risk and the conks are noticed, then the hollowness and the stability of the tree where the fruiting bodies have been seen should be checked. This particular photograph was actually taken at the start of the month two years ago, near Harrietsham while we were attending a BBQ. I cannot remember whether we checked the surroundings very carefully, but my memory tells me that this might have been close to a relatively quiet country road.

As a result of its thinner cuticle, the upper surface of G. applanatum is often softer and depressable with a thumb or finger, whilst G. australe/adspersum is much harder and has no give. "This should be tried on fruitbodies appearing to be at least two years old and upward but not applied to old fruitbodies with crumbling cuticles." What do we make of this?

This age threshold should also be applied when observing and comparing the "context" of the two species, i.e. the thickness of flesh layer between each season’s tube growth. Here the thickness difference is the other way round, it is thinner to non-existent in G. australe/adspersum!  http://www.londonfungusgroup.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ganoderma.pdf

In Ganoderma applanatum, the margin of the conk may also often be thinner/sharper, and there may be its characteristic fly galls on the lower surface, which are never found on G. australe/adspersum. If you were to find a Ganoderma on a conifer, there are no to very few records of G. australe/adspersum on conifers in the UK, whereas there are some of Ganoderma applanatum, but there are other species to consider!