Chaga, or birch mushroom, is a barren form of beveled tinder fungus. Most often it appears on birches, which is why it got such a name. In rare cases, you can find it on other trees, for example, on a mountain ash, maple or alder.
The sterile form of the fungus is widely used in medicine as an anti-blastoma and anti-gastritis agent. Chaga mushroom has a peculiar appearance, therefore, having read the description and examined its photo, you can easily identify it on a tree.
Content
Characteristic features of the variety
Tinder fungus is a parasitic fungus. It grows on trees in places of damage to the bark. Slowly delving into the trunk and tearing the bark, the tinder fungus can exist for about 20 years.
Appearance and photo
Inotus oblique looks like a shapeless solid growth. As can be seen in the photo, the outside is a tinder funnel of black or willow-brown color, with a cracking tuberous surface.
The interiors of a sterile form consist of 2 layers: a rough, dense middle layer and an internal brown-red.
Morphology
There are a number of species features that distinguish the inotus beveled from other tinder fungi. The main difference is the irregularly-rounded form of the growth, with a pitted surface. Outside it is covered with many tubercles and grooves. The diameter of the body can reach half a meter, and the thickness is 10-15 cm.
The interiors of the tree fungus are not homogeneous, and only the middle dense layer benefits. When the affected tree dies, the tinder fungus also begins to die, an inedible sporocarp appears on the opposite side of the tree, which releases spores into the air.
Chaga Distribution Site
Tree mushroom grows in central and northeastern Europe, on the Korean Peninsula, in the USA and Russia. In our country, the inotus can be found in the forests of the middle lane. Mostly it parasitizes on old, damaged birches, but sometimes it can grow on other trees belonging to the families of Birch, Salindov, Maple, Elm, Bukov and Pink.
Rules and places for collecting birch mushroom
You can collect the inotus at any time of the year. Many people prefer to harvest raw materials in spring and autumn, when foliage does not hide mushroom growths. In addition, in the fall and spring the tinder fungus incorporates the largest number of useful elements. It is advisable to stock up on raw materials far from roads and factories, the best place for collecting chaga is a birch grove. There you can find a large number of medicinal mushrooms.
The growths formed on solitary trees in cities and parks are less useful. It is not worth collecting the inotus from dead trees, such raw materials have no medicinal value. The growths formed near the earth itself are old and useless. Most often, they are loose, black and crumble easily.
Separating growths from the trunk is not so simple, so you need to have a small hatchet with you. A ladder or stepladder may also come in handy. It will allow you to reach the most valuable mushrooms located high from the ground.
Cut the growth is necessary vertically, as close as possible to the trunk. The bark of the tree and the inside of the cut out growth must be immediately disposed of.You can also cut the tinder fungus into pieces. Fresh chaga is not stored, it must be dried naturally.
Difference from false mushrooms
It is not difficult to distinguish chaga from other mushrooms, with the help of a photo we consider the features of a mowed tinder fungus and other non-medicinal species.
Chaga is not a fruiting body; its outer part resembles a pineal growth. It is hard to touch, dark, covered with cracks. The mushroom can take a variety of forms, often it stretches along a deep crack in a tree. Some growths can reach 1 meter in length. Healing mushroom is very difficult to separate from the tree.
Most often, chaga is confused with a false tinder. Its fruit body has a hard brownish surface, covered with grooves and a light gray fluff. Older mushrooms are brownish black or dark brown. The main difference between a false tinder fungus is its regular shape. Most often, false polypants hit dead trees, which is not characteristic of chaga.
Real, but not therapeutic tinder agents are easily removed from the tree. Their fruit bodies resemble a hoof, and to the touch they are soft and velvety. Outside the trousers are gray-brown, bottom and inside - light and uniform.
Other species of tinder fungus are rarely mistaken for chaga, as they are too light and soft. An exception is the edged tinder fungus. The old woody sponge is dark and hard to the touch, however, it differs from the chaga in its regular shape and orange edges.
Beneficial features
Tinder funnel is rich in dietary fiber and various acids. Due to this, it supports the body with diseases in the gastrointestinal tract and normalizes the acid-base balance. As part of it is a large number of trace elements and amino acids.
The restorative and anti-inflammatory effect is determined by the high content of high molecular weight substances. Phytoncides contribute to the speedy recovery of a person with infectious diseases, and flavonoids fight convulsions and inflammations.
Birch mushroom has many therapeutic effects. For example, he:
- relieves inflammation;
- helps restore acid-base balance in the body;
- is an antiseptic;
- helps lower blood pressure;
- weakens pain;
- increases metabolism;
- speeds up the process of digesting food;
- normalizes the intestinal microbiota;
- removes end metabolic products from the body;
- improves the functioning of the kidneys and liver;
- is a diuretic;
- contributes to the treatment of gastric ulcer.
And this is only a small part of the therapeutic actions that the fungus has.
Indications and restrictions for use
Healing wood sponge is recommended for various diseases. The list of indications for internal use is quite long and includes diseases of many body systems. These include:
- oncology;
- heart and vascular diseases;
- leukopenia;
- viral diseases;
- inflammatory processes;
- diabetes mellitus and other disorders of the endocrine system;
- damage to the mucous membrane of the duodenum;
- gastritis;
- transferred operation;
- insomnia, depression, and other nervous disorders;
- obesity;
- cramping
- tachycardia and hypertension.
In addition, the mushroom is used to strengthen the body and enhance immunity, to stimulate brain activity. Chaga is also used externally to treat diseases such as:
- dermatosis;
- rash;
- colds on the lips;
- keratinization of the integumentary epithelium;
- ulcers;
- burns;
- frostbite;
- scuffs, abrasions and wounds;
- acne
- peeling of the skin;
- insect bites.
In dentistry it is used as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic for:
- deep damage to the peridental tissue;
- inflammatory disease of periodontal tissues;
- damage to the oral mucosa;
- toothache.
However, it is not always possible to use a tinder fungus for medicinal purposes. Contraindications to the use of the fungus are:
- taking penicillin preparations;
- intravenous glucose solution;
- insufficient bowel movements;
- inflammatory disease of the colon mucosa;
- shigellosis;
- pregnancy;
- lactation period;
- individual intolerance.
Answers to Common Questions
Before using chaga for medicinal purposes, it is necessary to study its properties and features well. People who want to use a tinder fungus for treatment may have various questions. Consider the answers to the most common of them:
With malignant tumors, the fungus helps activate defense systems and inhibit tumor growth. This fact was recently proved during laboratory tests.
Birch mushroom is a truly amazing gift of nature. The special appearance of the medicinal tinder fungus allows you not to confuse it with other species. This form has a large number of useful properties and helps with many diseases. It is believed that the oblique inotus even helps to improve the condition of patients with oncology.
Care and use of Kombucha at home (+22 photo)
Edibility of the fungus of the motley umbrella and its description (+19 photo)
Description of edible and inedible oils, their poisonous counterparts (+40 photos)
Useful properties of milk mushroom and its contraindications (+17 photos)