Ganoderma lucidum

This photograph was not taken in Kansas, but in Missouri. However I have had numerous fruitings of Ganoderma lucidum in my back yard, so it is certainly a Kansas mushroom. This particular photograph was selected because it was the most unusual shape and color I have seen in a mushroom, at least compared to its normal appearance.

This polypore is unique in that occasionally the spores somehow migrate from the fertile surface on the underside and collect on the surface of the cap. The deposit may be significant enough to completely hide the normal varnished surface, turning it into a dusty light brown color.

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