Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Polyporales
Family: Ganodermataceae
Genus: Ganoderma
Common names: Bracket fungi, Shelf fungi, Hoof fungi
Ganoderma is a genus of polypore mushrooms that grow on wood (living or dead), In New Zealand, they grow on natives and introduced hardwood and conifers. Ganoderma can be differentiated from other polypores because they have a double-walled basidiospore (reproductive spores). Their basidiocarps that are large, lignicolous, perennial, woody, leathery, brackets (conks). Some are with or without a stem. Their hymenium (fertile layer) is in vertical pores on the underside of the caps. The underside can be white, off-white, cream, brown or a dark brown.
Young sporocarp growing on a decaying stump.
The underside of the above fungi
A very old Ganoderma
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
