The Correct Scientific Name of the Herbal Mushroom “Niu-Chang-Chih” under the
Jurisdiction of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants
依 據 國 際 藻 類 , 真 菌 及 植 物 命 名 法 規 的 牛 樟 芝 正 確 學 名
Shung-Chang Jong, Ph.D. 鍾順昌
Consultant for Global Affairs, Director Emeritus of Microbiology
ATCC, Manassas, VA 20110-2209, USA. sjong@atcc.org; www.atcc.org
A well-defined and taxonomically determined starting culture/strain used as a production inoculum is
crucial for the success of mushroom dietary supplement manufacturing since it is the most important
component of the production system, and without it there is no product. This source seed culture is
absolutely essential in a series of aseptic manipulations that culminate with a sterile produce and ensure
the quality and safety of the finished dietary supplement products in the marketplace. Effective June 25,
2010, all production of dietary supplements must comply with Current Good Manufacturing Practices
(CGMP) published by U.S. FDA in the Federal Register (21 CFR Part 111) in 2007. Therefore, the
correct scientific name of the herbal mushroom Niu-Chang-Chih used as a source of dietary ingredients
must include the Latin binomial (including the author). However, there are four scientific names cited in
commercial and scientific literature for the herbal mushroom Niu-Chang-Chih:
Ganoderma camphoratum Zang et Su, 1990, on Cinnamomum camphora;
Antrodia cinnamomea Chang et Chou, 1995, on Cinnamomum kanehirai;
Antrodia camphorata (Zang et Su ) Su et al., 1997, on Cinnamomum camphora; and
Taiwanofungus camphoratus (Zang et Su) Wu et al., 2004, on Cinnamomum camphora.
In order to determine the “correct” name from those cited for the mushroom, the nomenclatural standing
with regard to
1) effective publication (Art. 29-31),
2) valid publication (Art. 32-45 or H.9),
3) legitimacy (Art. 6.5, 52, 53 and 54), and
4) correctness (Art 6.6, 11.1, 11.3 and 11.4)
of each name concerned must be critically reviewed in accordance with particular rules of the
International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN, the Melbourne Code of 2011).
Clearly they all are effectively and validly published names.
ICN does not rule on the taxonomy, placement, position, or rank of a fungus, but only on the “correct”
name for use when a fungus is considered to belong in a species at a given point in time. Correct names
concern “legitimate” names pertaining to the same taxon (Art. 6.5 refers to Art. 11). However, there are
two basic “illegitimacies” concerning validly published names with specified “fatal” flaws (致命的
缺陷) as
1) superfluous renaming at its time of publication, i.e., the taxon already has a
name (2 names for one type 命名學上的同物異名) (Art. 52,), or
2) a later homonym that has already been applied to another fungus (same name
for 2 types 命名學上的同名異物) (Art. 53 and 54).
“Illegitimate names” apply only in “homonymy”, to have no other priority, thus not “basionyms” which
were the legitimate (previously published names on which new combinations are based) (Art. 6.10).
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Thus, “homonyms” are “illegitimate” according to the Code and cannot be used as correct names
of fungi.
The confusion of the four valid names frequently cited in the commercial and scientific literature for the
Niu-Chang-Chih known only from Taiwan is pure nomenclatural (i.e., involving issues of typification,
priority, and synonymy). In fungi, a “homonym” is a name for a fungus that is identical in spelling to
another such name that belongs to a different type (Art. 53.1). The ICN specifies that first published of
two or more “homonyms” is to be used; “later homonyms” are “illegitimate” and are not be used. Both
Antrodia camphorata (1997) and Taiwanofungus camphoratus (2004) are “illegitimate” because they
are “later homonyms” of validly published Ganoderm camphoratum (1990) and because they are
superfluous names for Antrodia cinnamomea (1995), therefore they are unavailable for use.
Consequently, the name Antrodia cinnamomea Chang et Chou, created in 1995 based on the type
specimen TFRI 119 collected in 1992 at Hsinchu on the trunk of Cinnamomum kanehirai Hayata
which is deposited at the Taiwan Forest Research Institute (TFRI) in Taipei, is the only “legitimate” and
“correct” scientific name now available for the herbal mushroom “Niu-Chang Chih” under the
jurisdiction of the ICN. The “ex-type” isolated from the holotype TFRI 119 is also available for general
distribution to the public from BCRC in Hsinchu, Taiwan, as BCRC 35396 and from ATCC in the USA
as ATCC 20018 (Art. 9.4 and 8B.2). They are permanently preserved in metabolically inactive state in
liquid nitrogen at -196º C or liquid nitrogen vapor at -170º C and below.
The “correct” scientific name A. cinnamomea is now adopted and recommended as the official name by
the Council of Agriculture in Taiwan (COA Announcement No. 1000118279 dated April 1, 2011), by
the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA Document
CNS of fruiting bodies of Antrotia cinnamomea Dated February 5, 2013), by the Taiwan
Edible/Medicinal Fungal Biotech Association and the Taiwan Federation of Niu-Chang-Chih Mushroom
(Antrodia cinnamomea) Industry (ISBN 978-986-89846-0-8, August 15, 2013) as well as by the
Bioresouce Collection and Research Center (BCRC) in the Food Industry Research and Development
Institute (FIRDI) at Taiwan (http://www.bcrc.firdi.org.tw) and by the American Type Culture
Collection (ATCC) in the United States (http://www.atcc.org).
References
Chang, T.T., Y.M. Ju, Y.C. Wu, et al. (eds). (2013) Fruiting Body’s Standards of Niu-Chang-Chih
(Antrodia cinnamomea) Endemic in TAIWAN and the Key to Correctly Judge its Nomenclature Issue.
Published by TAIWAN Edible/Medicinal Fungal Biotech Association and TAIWAN Federation of NiuChang Mushroom (Antrodia cinnamomea) Industry. Taipei City, Taiwan. 58 pp.
Jong, S.C. (2012) The legitimate scientific name of the valuable medicinal mushroom “Niu-ChangChih” known only from Taiwan. Micologia Aplicada International, 24(2): 43-52.
McNeil, J., F.R. Barrie, W.R. Buck, et al. (eds). (2012) International Code of Nomenclature for algae,
fungi, and plants (The Melbourne Code), Adopted by the Eighteenth International Botany Congress
Melbourne, Australia, July 2011 (electronic ed.). http://www.iapt-taxon.org/index_layer.php or
http://www.iapt-taxon.org/nomen/main.php. Hardcopy as Regnum Vegetabile no. 154, A.R.G. Ganter
Verlag. Ruggell.
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