PESTS AND DISEASES OF FORESTRY IN NEW ZEALAND
Ganoderma lucidum
HEALTH AND LONG LIFE - A FOREST RISK?
From Forest Health News 132, August 2003
The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS)
recently reported that they had intercepted over 1500 items
of unsolicited junk mail containing sachets of Ganoderma
lucidum. The fungal material was raw and unprocessed,
and so potentially still capable of growing. Ganoderma
lucidum is not found in Australia* or New Zealand and as
the cause of a significant butt and root rot of hardwoods it
constitutes an unwanted pest in the region.
Processed ling zhi medicinal gift pack, but not all such
products are equally biosecure (Bryce Kendrick, The Fifth
Kingdom; http://www.mycolog.com/fifthtoc.html).
The fungus, known medicinally as ling zhi or ‘the sacred
mushroom of immortality’, is being distributed by a
European-based company, Friedrich Mueller International
House of Nature from a number of addresses in Germany,
Austria and Switzerland. The accompanying
documentation describes claims for G. lucidum that the
product will improve circulation, reduce cholesterol, lower
blood pressure, boost the immune system, destroy tumours,
and help in losing or gaining weight as required.
All mail entering New Zealand is screened for items of
biosecurity concern. However, the quantity of mail
entering means that there is always a risk that something
might slip through. As New Zealand is a potential target for
a postal marketing campaign of this type there is a need for
vigilance. If items like the medicinal G. lucidum arrive
unsolicited in the mail they should be reported to MAF
immediately.
(Geoff Ridley, Forest Research)
* Related species do occur in Australia.
