(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-16 10:20

A farmer in Yangchun county of Guangdong province recently found a giant glossy ganoderma, a rare type of fungus used in traditional Chinese medicine, as he collected herbs in the mountains.

The fungus is 72cm long, 64cm wide and weighs more than 15 kg. It's the largest recorded specimen found in the province.

The ganoderma is large and thick, and many locals think it could be more than 200 years old.

The location and climate of the county's mountains provide ideal conditions for the fungus. It is renowned for its medicinal properties and was known as the "elixir of life" in ancient times.

Currently it's used by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners to treat tumors and as an anti-toxin.

(Yangcheng Evening News)