What are the harvesting and processing methods for lingzhi (Ganoderma)?

        1. Harvesting and drying         Under normal conditions, it takes about 20 days from the appearance of the primordium to the maturation of the cap. When the cap is fully expanded, releases a large number of spores, the white edge disappears, the thickening is not obvious, and the cap color is crimson red (red lingzhi), with uniform color, it can be harvested.         After harvesting, promptly cut off the culture material adhering to the base of the stipe of the fruiting body, and dry it in sunlight, or place it in a drying room to dry, with the temperature controlled at 55-65°C, drying until the moisture content of the lingzhi is about 12%. The moisture content of fresh lingzhi is usually 63%, and the dry-to-fresh ratio is generally 40%-45%. Put the sun-dried or oven-dried lingzhi into double-layer bags (one layer of plastic bag, one layer of woven bag), store in a dry warehouse, and check at any time to prevent mildew and insect damage.        2. Deep processing         Dried lingzhi products can be made into various new products according to different uses. For medicinal use, they can be made into syrup, tablets, injections, granules, medicinal wine, etc. For health food use, they can be made into various beverages, oral liquids, teabags, etc. For cosmetic use, they can be made into shampoo, beauty cream, etc. For ornamental use, they can be made into various bonsai crafts. Deep processing requires certain supporting equipment and technology; the following only introduces some simple and easy related reprocessing for medicinal and ornamental use.         (1) Preparations for medicinal use         Modern medical research has proved that the medicinal value of lingzhi includes the following aspects:         ① It can resist the formation of blood clots (it can dissolve newly formed blood clots and aged blood clots);         ② It normalizes blood pressure;         ③ It improves hyperlipidemia;         ④ It prevents arteriosclerosis;         ⑤ It keeps the functions of the central nervous system and other body functions in balance;         ⑥ It improves body immunity;         ⑦ It has an analgesic effect and can reduce pain caused by cancer or other diseases;         ⑧ It delays aging.         The simplest method of use is to brew 10 grams of lingzhi as tea every day, and persist for 2 months, which can achieve good results. But for treating various diseases, it is necessary to make various preparations, including syrup, tablets, injections, etc. The following introduces a simple method for making tablets:         Remove impurities from lingzhi and lingzhi root bark, wash them clean, decoct twice with water, each time for 3 hours, take the liquid and let it stand to precipitate for 6-8 hours, filter, and concentrate the filtrate to an extract with a specific gravity of 1.26-1.28 (measured hot at 90-95°C with a Baume meter), add an appropriate amount of excipients and mix evenly, dry and make granules, then press into tablets, and coat with sugar coating. It is required to make sugar-coated tablets each equivalent to 1 gram of crude drug. These tablets are suitable for neurasthenia and can also be used as auxiliary treatment for coronary heart disease and chronic bronchitis. The usage is 3 times a day, 3 tablets each time, taken after meals, with 10 days as one course of treatment, generally taking two courses.         (2) Ornamental bonsai craft         ① Shaping cultivation         According to the biological characteristics of lingzhi, by changing conditions such as light, temperature, water, and air, the effects of inhibiting growth, promoting growth, and shaping can be achieved. For example, when cultivated under poor ventilation (CO2 concentration reaching 0.1%) and low temperature (<22°C), only the stipe grows and no cap is formed, and the stipe branches into an antler shape. If ventilation is good and the temperature is 25-28°C, the elongated stipe will quickly grow a cap again. The shape of two layers of caps is bred by repeatedly changing the cultivation conditions according to this characteristic. Another example is that the fruiting body of lingzhi has strong phototropism. By shading light on four sides, the stipe and cap can be made to grow vertically. If unilateral light is used, the stipe and cap can be made to grow toward the light, so that various shapes can be achieved as needed.         ② Bonsai arrangement         The shaping-cultivated lingzhi, after slight manual trimming and embellishment, and matched with rocks, sand grains, tree stumps, as well as sun-dried moss, fruticose lichens, Selaginella, and other plants that are not easily broken and rotted, can be made into various lingzhi bonsai of different shapes and brilliant colors. When arranging bonsai, pay attention to the following aspects:         First, the colors and layout of the lingzhi materials and the ceramic pot should be coordinated and beautiful. If red lingzhi and Ganoderma tsugae are used as bonsai materials, brown or purple-clay-colored ceramic pots can be selected to show a simple, elegant, and color-coordinated effect. If purple lingzhi and black lingzhi are used as materials, white porcelain pots can be selected, and with strong contrasting colors, the beautiful colors and postures of purple lingzhi, etc. can be highlighted.         Second, the lingzhi materials and accessories must be firmly fixed in the pot. To facilitate long-term preservation, latex, glass glue, or gypsum can be used to fix the lingzhi materials and accessories in the pot. Quartz sand particles or sand grains can also be used as filler to fix the lingzhi in the pot. In addition, fine iron wire can be woven into a net, the lingzhi inserted into the meshes, and the two fixed together in the pot. Many lingzhi with very short stipes or even no stipes, such as Ganoderma applanatum, Ganoderma applanatum with white crust, and Ganoderma capense, have large caps, and their bases can be trimmed flat and glued into a shallow pot.