Basidiomycete mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum (Fr.) Karst., Ganodermataceae, used in Asian traditional medicine as a tonic, immunomodulator, and cancer treatment. Other species have also been used medicinally, such as G. applanatum. Habit. Temperate regions of Europe and Asia, particularly China, Japan. Widely cultivated as natural occurrence is rare. Constit. Several hundred bioactive components, particularly polysaccharides and triterpenoids, such as lucidenic and ganoderic acids, q.v. Botanical description, constituents and uses: A. Y. Leung, S. Foster, Encylopedia of Common Natural Ingredients (Wiley-Interscience, Hoboken, 2nd Ed., 2003) pp 255-260. Cultivation by submerged fermentation: R. Wagner et al., Food Technol. Biotechnol. 41, 371 (2003). Review of medicinal uses and constituents: R. Russell, M. Paterson, Phytochemistry 67, 1985-2001 (2006) DOI PubMed; and cultivation methods: B. Boh et al., Biotechnol. Annu. Rev. 13, 265-301 (2007) DOI PubMed.