Chaga

Inonotus obliquus

mushroom

A black, cracked growth, like burnt charcoal, that a fungus forms on the birches of the taiga; dried and drunk as a decoction. It provides beta-glucans.

Origin

Birches of the boreal forests

Season (United States)

all year round · grows in your region

Preparation

It is not eaten: a few pieces are simmered for one to several hours in water, which turns dark brown; the decoction is strained and drunk. The pieces can be reused once or twice.

Molecules

Mushroom beta-glucansIn small amounts, not counted Ergothioneine

Did you know?

Solzhenitsyn mentions it in Cancer Ward, hence its nickname “Solzhenitsyn's mushroom”; French-speaking Canadian foresters call it “charbon”, charcoal.