Garden Fungi – Ganoderma australe

Grows on WOOD.
 
Fruit-body: A hard, woody bracket. The upper surface is brown and uneven – occasionally knobbly. The growing edge may be white when fresh. The underside is white and will turn brown if touched.
 
Stem: None.
 
Spore print: Red-brown. Spores are produced in great quantities, often coating the surrounding ground in a brown, dusty mass.
 
Smell: Fungoid.
 
Habit: Grows on the trunks of living and dead trees, usually restricted to relatively old and substantial trees and fruiting from the base to several meters above the ground. Also found on large logs.
 
Notes: This species is very similar in appearance to the closely related Ganderma applanatum.