Chaga?

[goose63]

Are these what you guys talking abought if so there must be ten pounds in this pile

  

  

 
If so you can take all you like

[kwendt]

It goes for about $70 per oz of tincture up here. And yes, grows on old white or yellow birch, I'm told it's a slow growing fungus. There are quite a few ppl who use it...cited to be the best or strongest antioxidant known. Folks soak it in alcohol to make a tincture....

[Miller-Thinner2]

I went picking Chaga the other day. Found a bunch even a 27lb piece

[kensfarm]

Goose I don't believe that is chaga..  google it and look at the pictures.. looks like a black burl on the side of the tree. 

[starmac]

I was told to brew it like coffee, personally liked grits better and nobody has been able to force me to eat grits in over 50 years. lol

I may have to make some tea, and see if my taste buds think any better of it.

[r.man]

Does anyone know how the chaga is processed to be used?

[Miller-Thinner2]

you can grind it up put it in one of them stainless tea balls or cut it up into to chunks. you can reuse the same chunk a couple times. Im sure many other ways to make it. I cut mine up into 1 inch squares. its very hard to work with once its dried. once i pick my chaga I start to dry it so it dont mold.
I was reading online its only good to pick in the winter after the tree has gone dormant. Never pick it off of a dead tree.



this piece weighed 27lbs that would last someone a very long time in tea lol

[Chuck White]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, jake pogg!

Jake, I see by your description that you;re on the Iditarod Trail! 

I've seen Chaga around here and lately, I've seen it mentioned on the previews of the new TV series "Alaska Proof"!

Apparently it is used in producing certain types of alcoholic beverages!

[coxy]

 why cant you pick it off dead trees

[DonT]

My understanding is that chaga is a living organism that requires the host tree to be alive,when the host dies the chaga does as well. 

[Chuck White]

Sounds right, Don!

[47sawdust]

The good witch that I live with gathers chaga and makes medicinal tinctures.Her drug store is full of  of home made medicine.
She is sleeping now or I would ask for details.It is best not to wake "she who must be obeyed" from her slumber.
I trust her more than my doctor.

[Fundyheather]

chaga, Inonotus obliquus

Cures cancer etc, grows on my birch tree firewood, seems to prefer yellow birch, commonly found in boreal and boreal transition forest.  When damp fresh off the tree the interior grinds easily with a cheese grater.  I store it in the freezer to preserve it and keep it damp, makes sort of a caramel tasting tea.  Worth about $30 lb in our area.  Active ingredients are commonly extracted using water and alcohol.  True believers do both, then recombine resulting liquids.   

Best research information I have found comes from Russia and northern Europe. 

Local witch doctor does a popular vodka extraction (for medicinal purposes only.)

[johnnyllama]

I recently met someone who was quite familiar with chaga at a native american and pioneer fair this fall in western NY. He was a flint knapper who also demonstrated firestarting and used finely ground chaga as a tinder in his percussion firestarter. After showing me what it looked like I realized I had some growing on my own property on some yellow birch trees. A little time on the internet shows it is still the subject of quite a bit of research as a stong anti-oxidant and possible cancer fighting fungus but not so much when brewed as a tea. They are utilizing other ways to extract the chemicals that provide a much higher level of concentration.
I was told to harvest only part at a time as it will continue to grow if not completely stripped but so far I haven't touched it. I'll see if I have some good pictures of it. I've wondered for years what it was.

[r.man]

Does anyone know if some of the chaga is waste like a fruit rind? I see that the inside is a different colour than the outside. Is one more or only desirable?

[DonT]

I have been told the black portion is the most "potent". Many facebook pages exist with an abundance of experts.I made a tea in my slow cooker,I believe everyone needs to research it and form their own opinions based on their findings.

[Fundyheather]

Chaga seems not to be a waste or 'rind' product as asked.  Appears the chaga mass is concentrating birch tree chemicals, particularly betulin, which also occurs in the bark.  The mass can be seen to be extruding from a wound in the tree, pushing the bark aside.  It's less clear (to me) if the mass is killing the tree. as I see it in a mix of trees, some of them very healthy specimens.  The mass we see seems also not to be the 'fruiting body' like we expect to see in a mushroom.  It's a puzzle the more you look at it.  Willow bark gave us Aspirin, ground hemlock gave us Taxol, and chaga has something to give if we can figure it out.