Amauroderma rugosum
Amauroderma rugosum
Amauroderma rugosum is a dark, stalked wood-decay fungus in the reishi family, native to tropical forests across Southeast Asia and southern China. Press the pale pore surface of a fresh specimen and it turns blood red within seconds — the trait that gave its reclassified genus the name Sanguinoderma. Researchers have studied its mycelium for polysaccharide bioactivity, neuroprotection, and anti-inflammatory effects, and it carries a documented history in Chinese traditional medicine.
Sanguinoderma rugosum (Blume & T. Nees) Y.F. Sun, D.H. Costa & B.K. Cui — Ganodermataceae — Polyporales
What Is Amauroderma rugosum?
Amauroderma rugosum is a stalked, corky-to-woody polypore of the Ganodermataceae family — the same family as reishi and the laccate lingzhis — that fruits from rotting wood, roots, and soil-associated woody debris in humid tropical and subtropical forests. Its cap is dark brown to near-black, concentrically furrowed and radially wrinkled, and its most memorable feature is a pore surface that turns blood red within seconds of bruising when the basidiome is fresh.
The species carries two scientific names that both need to be understood to navigate its literature. Most of the chemistry, pharmacology, and safety research published through 2025 uses Amauroderma rugosum, because that was the accepted name until a 2020 multi-gene phylogenetic revision split the old genus Amauroderma into several new lineages. The blood-bruising clade was named Sanguinoderma (from the Latin sanguis, blood), and this species became Sanguinoderma rugosum. In Hong Kong biodiversity sources and some polysaccharide literature it also appears under the English common name "Blood Lingzhi," though that name is not established across the wider scientific literature. For the reader searching any of these names, all should lead here.
Despite a growing body of preclinical research — including polysaccharide characterization, neuroprotection studies in aging mice, and a Malaysian ethnomycological record of stipes worn as necklaces against epileptic fits — Amauroderma rugosum has no comprehensive English-language species guide. No Wikipedia article exists for it under either name. The content gap is unusually wide for a species with multiple peer-reviewed biomedical publications.
Interested in this species? Out-Grow carries a liquid culture.
Amauroderma rugosum Liquid CultureAmauroderma rugosum is a white-rot saprotrophic wood-decay fungus — it decomposes lignin as well as cellulose and hemicellulose in dead woody substrate using oxidative ligninolytic enzymes including laccases and peroxidases. Crucially, this saprotrophic mode means it does not require a living tree partner, making mycelial culture biologically feasible on inanimate substrate. Several published biomedical studies have generated substantial quantities of cultured mycelial biomass via submerged liquid culture, proving the species is experimentally tractable at the mycelial level.
How Is Amauroderma rugosum Classified?
| Kingdom | Fungi |
| Phylum | Basidiomycota |
| Class | Agaricomycetes |
| Order | Polyporales |
| Family | Ganodermataceae |
| Genus (current) | Sanguinoderma Y.F. Sun, D.H. Costa & B.K. Cui |
| Species (current) | Sanguinoderma rugosum (Blume & T. Nees) Y.F. Sun, D.H. Costa & B.K. Cui |
| Basionym | Polyporus rugosus Blume & T. Nees (1826) |
| Principal legacy name | Amauroderma rugosum (Blume & T. Nees) Torrend (1920) |
| MycoBank (new combination) | MB828447 |
The basionym Polyporus rugosus was described in 1826 from Java by Blume and T. Nees. Torrend transferred it to Amauroderma in 1920, and the species resided there for a century until the 2020 multi-gene revision by Sun and coauthors. That study used six molecular loci — ITS, nLSU, RPB1, RPB2, TEF, and TUB — and recovered Amauroderma in the broad traditional sense as polyphyletic, splitting it into Amauroderma sensu stricto (Neotropical), Foraminispora, Furtadoa, and the newly erected Sanguinoderma. The blood-bruising species including A. rugosum fell into the Sanguinoderma clade, prompting the new combination.
Why this name change matters for literature searches: The redesignation from Amauroderma to Sanguinoderma reflects a change in generic circumscription, not any dispute about the species itself. The family placement (Ganodermataceae) is stable and not contested. Researchers searching PubMed, Web of Science, or Google Scholar for the biomedical literature should search both Amauroderma rugosum AND Sanguinoderma rugosum — papers from 2022 onward increasingly cite both names in the same abstract, but most indexed papers still appear under the older name.
How Do You Identify Amauroderma rugosum?
Amauroderma rugosum is a medium-to-large stipitate polypore with a corky-to-woody texture, a dark concentrically ridged cap, and — the unmistakable field character — a pore surface that turns blood red within seconds of any bruising or cutting when the basidiome is fresh. The following description is derived from the 2020 Sun et al. phylogenetic revision, which provides the authoritative measurements for the current species concept.
Key Morphological Parameters
The blood-red bruising reaction is the most reliable single field character — press a finger firmly against the fresh pore surface and observe for 30–60 seconds. This reaction distinguishes Amauroderma rugosum from virtually all other dark stipitate Ganodermataceae at the macroscopic level and was important enough to justify naming the genus Sanguinoderma after it.
Microscopically, the key character separating this species from Ganoderma sensu stricto is the basidiospore morphology: spores in Sanguinoderma are double-walled, broadly ellipsoid, and lack the truncate apex and interwall pillars (columnar structures connecting the two spore wall layers) that define Ganoderma. Under SEM, the exospore (outer wall) is alveolate to semi-reticulate and the endospore bears short, tightly arranged columnar spinules — ornamentation characteristic of the genus.
Field ID should be treated as provisional: Confusion with other Sanguinoderma species — especially S. microporum and S. rude, which overlap in habit and coloration — means confident species-level identification outside well-studied Asian collections requires microscopy (especially spore measurement and pore density) and ideally multilocus sequence data. ITS barcoding alone is not sufficient for reliable delimitation in this complex; ITS + LSU + RPB2 or TEF is the recommended minimum for confident determination.
Lookalike Species
Ganoderma spp. (Reishi and relatives)
The primary generic-level lookalike problem. Dark, stipitate Ganodermataceae species can resemble A. rugosum superficially. Key separator: Ganoderma spores have a truncate apex with interwall pillars and an apical germ-pore region; Sanguinoderma spores lack these. Pore surfaces in Ganoderma do not typically bruise blood red.
Sanguinoderma microporum
Closely related; same genus; same red-bruising trait. Separated by pore density (microporum = finer pores), dissepiment thickness, and spore dimensions. Microscopy required for confident separation; both are in the same genus and share overall habit.
Sanguinoderma rude
Closely related congener; requires attention to spore size and context color for separation. As with S. microporum, the blood-bruising character is shared. Field identification to species level in this group should be confirmed by microscopy.
Non-bruising dark polypores (Amauroderma s.str.)
Amauroderma sensu stricto species (Neotropical) are dark stalked polypores that do not bruise red. The absence of the blood-bruising reaction is the primary field separator from Sanguinoderma — if the fresh pore surface does not redden on pressing, it is not in this genus.
Where Does Amauroderma rugosum Grow?
Amauroderma rugosum is a tropical to subtropical species distributed broadly across the Old World. It is a white-rot saprotroph fruiting from rotting wood, roots, soil-associated woody debris, and occasionally from root systems of standing trees (colonizing dead sections rather than parasitizing living tissue). The species grows on or near the ground in humid tropical and subtropical forest settings, and is described as ground-associated rather than a conspicuous exposed trunk shelf fungus.
| Region | Status | Substrate / Habitat |
|---|---|---|
| Indonesia (Java) | Type locality | Rotting wood, woody debris; one specimen from Acacia mangium |
| Southern China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan) | Multiple verified collections | Tropical rainforest floor; root-associated woody debris |
| Malaysia | Well-documented; ethnomycological records | Humid tropical forest; soil-associated wood roots |
| Thailand, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka | Reported in regional surveys | Tropical forest floor; rotting wood |
| Africa (broader Old World tropics) | Mentioned in reviews | Tropical woodland habitats |
The 2020 multi-gene revision characterized the Sanguinoderma clade as centered in Asia, Africa, and Oceania — distinctly Old World — rather than the Neotropics, which is the domain of Amauroderma sensu stricto. Fruiting occurs during or after the rainy season in tropical settings; precise month-by-month regional calendars have not been published. No IUCN Red List assessment for this species was located.
Can You Cultivate Amauroderma rugosum?
Amauroderma rugosum is a white-rot saprotrophic wood-decay fungus, which means cultivation on inanimate lignocellulosic substrate is biologically feasible in principle — it does not require a living tree symbiont. The honest picture from the peer-reviewed literature, however, draws a sharp line between what is proven and what is not.
What is peer-reviewed and documented: Multiple published biomedical studies have produced substantial quantities of cultured mycelial biomass via submerged (liquid) fermentation. A 2013 study in the Asian Journal of Mycology analyzed freeze-dried mycelia from submerged culture and used that material for nutritional profiling and anti-inflammatory assays. Later polysaccharide and neuroprotection studies similarly relied on cultured material or extracts from cultured biomass. Mycelial culture is experimentally established and reliable enough to support extraction-grade biomass production.
What is not peer-reviewed: No published study documents substrate recipes, spawn run duration, fruiting triggers, humidity, CO₂ tolerance, light requirements, flush counts, biological efficiency, or fruiting-body yield for this species. The absence of a published fruiting protocol does not prove fruiting is impossible — it reflects that the species is under-documented as a cultivated fruiting organism, despite strong evidence that its mycelium is tractable.
Agar Culture Behavior
Published biomedical research confirms agar culture is feasible for mycelial maintenance and DNA extraction, but no peer-reviewed paper provides species-specific growth rate, colony morphology, optimal pH, or medium preference data for Amauroderma rugosum. The following observations are vendor-reported from Out-Grow's mycology lab and should be understood as practitioner-level observations, not validated scientific data:
Vendor-reported (Out-Grow lab notes): Mycelium on MEA (malt extract agar) appears cream-colored, moderately cottony in texture, gradually developing browns and light tans throughout the colony as it ages — described as similar in progression to Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor). Growth is slow to moderate. Optimal incubation temperature: approximately 75–82°F (24–28°C) in darkness, consistent with the species' tropical origin. The color transition from cream to tan and brown is normal and expected. Store colonized plates at 35–43°F in darkness, sealed against desiccation, with transfers every 6–12 months to maintain vigor.
What the Liquid Culture Contains — and What to Do With It
Out-Grow's Amauroderma rugosum liquid culture contains viable mycelium of this species in sterile nutrient media, ready for inoculating agar plates, sterilized grain, or experimental substrates under aseptic conditions.
Peer-reviewed supported uses: Agar plate expansion and culture preservation; mycelial biomass production for biochemical, polysaccharide, or pharmacological research; inoculum generation for submerged fermentation studies. Multiple published studies have used cultured biomass from this species as source material for bioactive compound isolation.
Experimental uses (not peer-reviewed for this species): Grain spawn preparation for substrate trials; hardwood sawdust block or log inoculation to investigate fruiting potential. These are legitimate research directions but are not supported by published fruiting protocols.
What it cannot currently be described as: A verified route to consistent fruiting-body production. The honest framing is: liquid culture opens the door to research on this species — mycelial biomass, polysaccharide extraction, substrate trials — not the guarantee of mushroom fruit.
What Bioactive Compounds Does Amauroderma rugosum Contain?
The chemistry literature for Amauroderma rugosum is stronger than its cultivation literature and has grown substantially since 2013. Most work uses cultured mycelial extracts or isolated polysaccharide fractions, not wild fruiting-body metabolite profiles. All evidence quality is labeled below.
Polysaccharides ARP-1 and ARP-2 (β-1,3-D-glucans)
Isolated and characterized in a 2024 Heliyon paper. ARP-1: ~1,494 kDa; ARP-2: ~450 kDa. Both characterized as β-(1→3)-D-glucan backbones with β-(1→6)-linked branching by GC, FT-IR, and NMR. ARP-1 DPPH IC₅₀ ~222 µg/mL; ABTS IC₅₀ ~139 µg/mL; hydroxyl radical IC₅₀ ~165 µg/mL. In RAW264.7 macrophages: ARP-1 produced >16-fold TNF-α and >20-fold IL-6 increases at 100 µg/mL, with no noted cytotoxicity at tested concentrations — strong immunostimulatory activity in cell assay.
In vitro — characterized + cell assayPolysaccharide PAR-3 (Pro-angiogenic Fraction)
Identified in a 2024 study as the fraction with the strongest pro-angiogenic activity. In zebrafish with VRI-induced vascular insufficiency and in HUVEC cell assays, PAR-3 promoted vascular recovery and upregulated VEGF-A and VEGF receptor expression, likely involving Akt, ERK1/2, p38 MAPK, and FAK signaling pathways. Note: pro-angiogenic activity may be beneficial in wound healing or tissue repair contexts but could be undesirable in certain oncological contexts — simplistic "anti-cancer mushroom" framing is not accurate for this compound.
In vitro + zebrafish modelErgosterol
Identified by GC analysis of the hexane fraction in the 2013 study alongside ethyl linoleate. Ergosterol is the primary fungal sterol and is present in all examined Basidiomycota; it is discussed in the 2013 paper as a compound with known anti-inflammatory properties. Present by direct identification from mycelial extract.
Directly identified — 2013 studyEthyl Linoleate
Identified by GC in the hexane fraction (2013 study). The hexane fraction showed dose-dependent inhibition of NO (nitric oxide) production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages, and ethyl linoleate was identified as a contributor. Anti-inflammatory mechanism in cell assay only; no human data.
Identified + in vitro anti-inflammatoryTotal Phenolics (Ethyl Acetate Fraction)
The ethyl acetate fraction had the highest total phenolic content and strongest antioxidant performance in DPPH and ABTS assays across all tested fractions in the 2013 study. Specific phenolic compounds not individually characterized in the retrieved literature. Contributes to the antioxidant profile of mycelial extract.
Fraction-level data — 2013 studyNeuroprotective Fraction (Uncharacterized)
A 2021 study reported protection of PC12 neuronal cells against 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity via antioxidant and antiapoptotic mechanisms. A 2022 study (citing both names) found protection against glutamate-induced hippocampal cell injury. A 2025 animal study showed improved cognition in d-galactose-induced aging mice, with reductions in hippocampal lesions, ROS, and senescence markers, and increases in mTOR phosphorylation, SOD1, and HO-1. The specific compound(s) responsible are not characterized.
In vitro + animal model — preclinical onlyHonest evidence summary: The polysaccharide characterization work (2024) is the strongest data — it combines chemical structure determination with quantified cell assays. The neuroprotection work reaches the animal model level (2025), which is stronger than cell-line data alone. No human clinical trials, controlled observational studies, or phase studies exist for this species. All biomedical claims require that qualifier. The compound(s) responsible for the blood-red bruising reaction have not been chemically identified in the peer-reviewed literature — a 2024 comparative genomics paper proposed a Sanguinoderma-specific siroheme synthase-related gene family as a hypothesis, but the pigment chemistry remains unresolved.
Is Amauroderma rugosum Safe?
Amauroderma rugosum is not widely consumed as a food mushroom, and it is important to distinguish its safety profile clearly from its biomedical research use. The species is hard, corky, and woody — not suited to culinary preparation in the way fleshy edible mushrooms are. Its documented use is in traditional medicine and in laboratory extraction contexts, not as a food ingredient.
Acute oral toxicity (animal data): A 2017 study administered a single oral dose of 2,000 mg/kg mycelial powder to Sprague-Dawley rats and observed no adverse effects in growth, hematology, serum biochemistry, or histology over 14 days of observation. All treated animals survived. This supports a statement that acute oral toxicity appeared low under those experimental conditions at that dose.
In vitro cytotoxicity: The 2017 study found little to no cytotoxicity of tested mycelial extracts against MCF-7 (breast cancer) and A-549 (lung cancer) cell lines. The 2024 polysaccharide study found no notable cytotoxicity to RAW264.7 macrophages at concentrations up to 100 µg/mL.
Responsible safety statement: No specific poisoning syndrome or human adverse event has been documented in the retrieved literature for this species. Acute rodent toxicity studies were negative at 2,000 mg/kg mycelial powder. However, Amauroderma rugosum is not documented as a commonly consumed edible mushroom, and the absence of documented cases reflects limited exposure data rather than confirmed dietary safety at population scale. The species should not be consumed based on analogy with edible Ganodermataceae relatives without species-specific safety assessment. This is not a culinary mushroom in the traditional sense.
What Makes Amauroderma rugosum Scientifically Remarkable?
1. The Blood-Red Bruising Reaction — A Genus-Defining Trait
The immediate blood-red coloration of the pore surface on bruising when fresh is not simply a memorable field character — it is the defining diagnostic feature of the genus Sanguinoderma and the etymological origin of the genus name itself. This kind of instantaneous, visually dramatic enzymatic oxidation is rare in Ganodermataceae. The chemical mechanism remains unresolved: a 2024 comparative genomics study proposed a Sanguinoderma-specific siroheme synthase-related gene family as a candidate, but the responsible pigment or oxidation product has not been directly isolated. The biochemistry of this reaction is a genuine and tractable research gap.
2. A Century of Taxonomic Misplacement — Now Corrected
From 1920 until 2020, this species was classified in Amauroderma, a genus originally conceived as the "dark, non-laccate" counterpart to the glossy-capped Ganoderma. The 2020 Sun et al. multi-gene revision using six loci revealed that Amauroderma in the traditional sense was polyphyletic — a grab-bag of unrelated lineages that happened to share a dark, dull cap. The blood-bruising clade proved to be a distinct evolutionary lineage, now Sanguinoderma, with its own morphological and potentially biochemical character suite. This makes Amauroderma rugosum / Sanguinoderma rugosum a case study in how morphological taxonomy can mislead when convergent features are used as classification characters.
3. Ethnomycology: Stipes Worn as Necklaces Against Epilepsy
The Temuan community in Malaysia traditionally wear fresh stipes of this species as necklaces to prevent epileptic fits or incessant crying in infants. This is one of the most specific and geographically grounded ethnomycological records for any Ganodermataceae species outside of reishi — a precise, verifiable use reported in peer-reviewed ethnomycological literature. The 2024 polysaccharide paper also documented Chinese traditional medicine use under the name "JiaZhi" (假芝) for anticancer, anti-diuretic, anti-epileptic, and anti-inflammatory applications. The anti-epileptic traditional claim echoes the Malaysian use independently. Whether any compound in the species has neuropharmacological activity relevant to seizure modulation is an open research question — the 2021 and 2022 neuroprotection studies address related pathways, but not epileptic mechanisms specifically.
4. Preclinical Chemistry Richer Than Its Cultivation Science
Most mushroom species guides face the opposite imbalance: well-documented cultivation, sparse chemistry. Amauroderma rugosum reverses this — it has multiple published biomedical studies characterizing polysaccharides by molecular weight, linkage type, and cell assay, and an animal model neuroprotection study published as recently as 2025. Yet no peer-reviewed cultivation protocol exists for fruiting-body production. This makes it an ideal candidate for a research-focused liquid culture use case: the mycelium is scientifically valuable even without a fruiting protocol, because biomedical researchers need mycelial biomass.
5. Pro-Angiogenic Activity — A Nuanced Bioactivity Profile
The PAR-3 polysaccharide fraction showed pro-angiogenic (blood-vessel-promoting) activity in zebrafish and HUVEC assays, upregulating VEGF-A and VEGF receptor expression. This is a pharmacologically unusual finding in the mushroom literature, where most bioactivity reporting emphasizes anti-tumor or immunosuppressive effects. Pro-angiogenic activity has legitimate therapeutic relevance in wound healing, tissue repair, and certain ischemic conditions. It also means that the simplistic "anti-cancer mushroom" framing applied to many Ganodermataceae relatives is not appropriate here — different fractions of the same species can have opposing biological effects depending on context.
6. Applied Literature Indexed Under a Superseded Name
The 2020 name change from Amauroderma to Sanguinoderma creates a real discoverability problem: any researcher or curious reader searching only the current accepted name Sanguinoderma rugosum will miss the bulk of the biomedical, toxicological, and ethnomycological literature, all indexed under Amauroderma rugosum. This species therefore serves as a live case study in how taxonomic revisions can fragment the discoverability of applied knowledge — and why a species guide that bridges both names is genuinely useful rather than merely cosmetic.
Also available as a culture plate from Out-Grow.
Amauroderma rugosum Culture PlateFrequently Asked Questions About Amauroderma rugosum
What is the correct scientific name — Amauroderma rugosum or Sanguinoderma rugosum?
Both names refer to the same species. Sanguinoderma rugosum is the current accepted name following the 2020 multi-gene phylogenetic revision by Sun and coauthors (MycoBank MB828447). Amauroderma rugosum is the principal legacy name and remains the name used in most biomedical, pharmacological, and ethnomycological literature published through 2025. Both names should be used in any literature search to capture the full body of published research. This guide uses Amauroderma rugosum as the primary search term because that is how the applied literature is indexed.
Why does the pore surface turn red?
The blood-red bruising reaction is a defining character of the genus Sanguinoderma and the origin of the genus name (Latin sanguis, blood). The exact biochemical mechanism — the specific pigment or oxidation product responsible — has not been identified in published analytical chemistry. A 2024 comparative genomics paper proposed a Sanguinoderma-specific siroheme synthase-related gene family as a hypothesis, but the compound(s) directly responsible have not been isolated or characterized. This is a genuine, tractable, and as-yet-unsolved research question.
Can Amauroderma rugosum be grown at home?
Its mycelium can be propagated on agar (MEA) and in liquid culture — multiple published biomedical studies have generated substantial mycelial biomass via submerged fermentation. Growing fruiting bodies is a different question: no peer-reviewed study has published substrate recipes, fruiting triggers, flush counts, or yield data for this species. The species is a white-rot saprotroph and is not blocked by mycorrhizal requirements, so fruiting on hardwood substrate is biologically plausible. Liquid culture is best used for agar expansion, culture preservation, or mycelial biomass production for research — not as a verified path to fruiting bodies.
What is the ethnomycological use of Amauroderma rugosum in Malaysia?
The Temuan community in Malaysia traditionally wear fresh stipes of Amauroderma rugosum as necklaces to prevent epileptic fits or incessant crying in infants. This is documented in peer-reviewed ethnomycological literature as a specific, geographically grounded practice. The species is also known in Chinese traditional medicine as "JiaZhi" (假芝), with traditional claims including anti-epileptic, anticancer, anti-diuretic, and anti-inflammatory uses. These are historical ethnomycological records; they describe traditional claims and do not imply clinical validation.
What does the research on Amauroderma rugosum actually show?
The strongest published data is for polysaccharide fractions (ARP-1 and ARP-2) characterized by molecular weight, linkage type, and cell assay — these are β-1,3-glucans showing antioxidant activity and strong immunostimulation of macrophages in vitro (published 2024). A separate polysaccharide fraction (PAR-3) showed pro-angiogenic activity in zebrafish and HUVEC assays. Neuroprotection studies exist at the cell line level (2021, 2022) and in an aging mouse model (2025). A 2017 acute toxicity study found no adverse effects in rats at 2,000 mg/kg mycelial powder. No human clinical trials have been conducted for this species.
Is Amauroderma rugosum related to reishi?
Yes, both are in the family Ganodermataceae and the order Polyporales. Amauroderma rugosum (now Sanguinoderma rugosum) is in a different genus from reishi (Ganoderma lucidum and its relatives) but they share the same family. The key microscopic difference is that Ganoderma spores have a truncate apex and interwall pillars, while Sanguinoderma spores lack these. At the biological level, both are white-rot saprotrophs, and both families of species have been investigated for β-glucan polysaccharide bioactivity. They are related, but distinct, and the medicinal research on one should not be directly attributed to the other without species-specific evidence.