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Ganoderma lingzhi (Polyporales, Basidiomycota): the scientific binomial for the widely cultivated medicinal fungus Lingzhi

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Abstract

The traditional medicinal fungus, Lingzhi, has long been considered to be Ganoderma lucidum, but was recently described as G. lingzhi based on both morphological and molecular data. Months earlier than this description, the species was identified as G. sichuanense by another research group. A sequenced epitype for G. sichuanense was selected that, if accepted, meant that it became a synonym of, and an earlier name for, G. lingzhi. However, the holotype of G. sichuanense is well developed with distinct morphological characters, and its ITS sequence, the DNA barcode for fungal taxonomy, is available. The holotype of G. sichuanense does not possess the typical morphological characteristics of Lingzhi, and the designated epitype is not conspecific with the holotype from morphological, phylogenetic and ecological perspectives. Consequently, the designation of the epitype is considered to conflict with the regulations of the Code and should be rejected. As no other previously published species name matches Lingzhi, the correct name for this fungus is G. lingzhi.

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Acknowledgement

LWZ is grateful to the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (No. 2017240) for financial support.

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Author notes

  1. Yu-Cheng Dai and Li-Wei Zhou contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology, Beijing Forestry University, PO Box 61, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yu-Cheng Dai

  2. Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Li-Wei Zhou

  3. Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan

    Tsutomu Hattori

  4. Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing, 210042, China

    Yun Cao

  5. Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Uppsalalaan 8, NL-3584 CT, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Joost A. Stalpers

  6. Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Oslo, P. O. Box 1066, Blindern, N-0316, Oslo, Norway

    Leif Ryvarden

  7. Landcare Research, Private Bag 92170, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    Peter Buchanan

  8. Botanical Institute, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 1, D-72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Franz Oberwinkler

  9. Botanical Institute, University of Gothenburg, Box 461, S-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Nils Hallenberg

  10. Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650204, China

    Pei-Gui Liu

  11. Department of Biology, National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, 404, Taiwan

    Sheng-Hua Wu

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  1. Yu-Cheng Dai
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  2. Li-Wei Zhou
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  3. Tsutomu Hattori
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  4. Yun Cao
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  8. Franz Oberwinkler
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Correspondence to Yu-Cheng Dai or Sheng-Hua Wu.

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Dai, YC., Zhou, LW., Hattori, T. et al. Ganoderma lingzhi (Polyporales, Basidiomycota): the scientific binomial for the widely cultivated medicinal fungus Lingzhi. Mycol Progress 16, 1051–1055 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-017-1347-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-017-1347-4

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