How To Draw On Artist Conk

By Alissa Overson

Fungus is a common function of our everyday life, whether or not we realize it. From the food in our kitchens, to the mushrooms in our yards, mucus is everywhere. There are about 100,000 species of described fungi, but contempo estimates say that there are over v million species waiting to be described (Blackwell 2022)! Of those 100,000 known species of fungi, most 17,000 are mushrooms (Blackwell).

Many mushrooms accept amazing qualities about them. One particularly interesting mushroom is the polypore Ganoderma applanatum, ordinarily known as the artist's conk. Upon first glance, this mushroom might non expect like much. It grows out of fallen logs or wounds in trees and forms a shelf-like knob. The top of the cap is pale brown with a white margin that leads into the white underside. Before touched, the pore surface (the underside of the mushroom) is a perfect white color (run across fig. 1). After it is touched, the mushroom "bruises" and turns dark brown very quickly, making it piece of cake to depict on! Artists use this mushroom every bit a canvas to etch beautiful illustrations on (see fig. two). David Arora, author of Mushrooms Demystified, says that Ganoderma applanatum "makes an splendid medium for carving, or meliorate yet, leaving cryptic messages in the woods". Because Ganoderma applanatum is a perennial mushroom, a message left on this mushroom might be there for years to come!

Figure i. Ganoderma applanatum growing our of a fallen hardwood log

Ganoderma applanatum comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The mushroom pictured in Effigy 1 was found near my dwelling house in Hoodsport, Washington, and is almost 8 inches long. The pore surface is very flat, and I plan on making a cartoon on it eventually. For now, I am letting information technology stay in the forest because once picked, in that location is a express amount of time to draw on it before information technology volition no longer bruise. This is another amazing feature of the fungus. Cartoon on a fresh specimen and and then drying it will naturally preserve your masterpiece. While this specimen is fairly modest, artist'due south conk can grow upwards to xx inches! Although it is virtually ordinarily used equally a canvas, the use of Ganoderma applanatum does not stop with artwork.

Fig. ii. Drawing done on Chiliad. applanatum by creative person Corey Corcoran. Click here to see more!

Ganoderma applanatum is also used for its medicinal properties. The genus Ganoderma is very important to China, which uses many dissimilar kinds of these mushrooms in medicine (Jong 1992). While information technology cannot be directly eaten because it information technology is also hard, the woody fruiting torso tin be boiled down into a tea and is used for its antiinflammatory, antitumor, and antibacterial properties. It is also said to help the respiratory organisation (Stamets 1999). The compounds found in many Ganoderma mushrooms accept actually been studied and shown to profoundly inhibit tumor growth in mice (Usui et al 1983). This is non merely a domicile remedy!

Many polypores constitute in the Pacific Northwest are medicinal, and this is just i case. Our forests contain all kinds of fungi, and they tin exist used in many ways. I remember that it is important to go along learning about fungi and how they tin be used. Next time yous are walking in the woods, keep an eye out for these inconspicuous mushrooms. Maybe you can get out a friendly bulletin for the next hiker, describe a pic, or even harvest the mushroom to brand some medicinal tea.
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Works Cited
Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. (2 ed., pp. 576577). New York: Ten Speed Press.

Blackwell, K. (2011). The Fungi: 1, 2, 3 .. five.one million species? American Journal of Botany, 98(3), 426438.

Jong, S. C., Brimingham, J. M. (1992). Medicinal Benefits of the Mushroom Ganoderma . Advances in Applied Microbiology, 73, 108110.

Stamets, P., & Wu Yao , C. (1999). MycoMedicinals: An Informational Treatise on Mushrooms.
MycoMedia.

Usui, T., Iwasaki, Y., Mizuno, T., Tanaka, G., Shinkai, K., & Arakawa, M. (1983). Isolation and haracterization of antitumor active β glucans from the fruit bodies of Ganoderma applanatum. Sugar Research, 115, 273280.

Source: https://archives.evergreen.edu/webpages/curricular/2013-2014/fungalkingdom/ganoderma-applanatum-the-artists-conk/index.html

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