A triterpenic acid profile of Ganoderma lucidum s.str. is shown for the first time.
G. lucidum (M9720) contained markedly less triterpenic acids than G. lingzhi (M9724).
HPLC profiles show species specific tendencies probably useful for chemotaxonomy.
Characteristics to distinguish G. lingzhi (M9724) from G. lucidum (M9720) are shown.
This case study underlines the importance of taxonomy for commercial use of fungi.