Chaga Culture Plate

Inonotus obliquus, commonly known as chaga, is a fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae. It is parasitic on birch and other trees. The sterile conk is irregularly formed and has the appearance of burnt charcoal. It is not the fruiting body of the fungus, but a sclerotium or mass of mycelium, mostly black because of the presence of massive amounts of melanin. Chaga mushroom mainly grows in cold climates, such as Northern Europe, Siberia, Russia, Korea, Northern Canada and Alaska.