What's this weird purple fungus?

Found in my mum in law's border, hiding under a low growing variegated shrub. It's growing straight out of the ground, not on a log or anything. It has 2 short stumps at the base which are the fungus, not a rotting shrub stump as I first thought.
Any ideas???

 

Run for the hills, the aliens have landed!...........sorry do not know.

 

Varnished Polypore pehaps?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingzhi_mushroom

 

I don't think so, Zigs. But do you think I could fool a Chinese Herbalist & sell it to them?

 

I looked it up in my MILs book and the closest I could find was a Blood Staining Bracket (or something), but pics of that on the internet don't look right

 

I should have said its about 10cm across.

 

Maybe a 'Blackish purple Russula'....Russula atropurpurea

 

nope, that has a white stem. I've been googling again, but I'm stumped

 

I googled and emailed the pic to a few places. just got this reply.....

Hi Ros

Nice find! It is a polypore fungus called Ganoderma lucidum, the 'Lacquered Bracket'. The upper surface varies from orange to a brownish purple, and although apparently growing from the ground the buried part of 'stem' will have been attached to a tree root just below the soil surface.

More details are online here: http://www.first-nature.com/fungi/ganoderma-lucidum.php

 

blimey zigs, you were right!!

 

There's a first time for everything