Inonotus obliquus

Inonotus obliquus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Hymenochaetales
Family:	Hymenochaetaceae
Genus:	Inonotus
Species:	I. obliquus
Binomial name
	Inonotus obliquus; (Ach. ex Pers.) Pilát (1942)
Synonyms
	Boletus obliquus Ach. ex Pers. (1801); Polyporus obliquus (Ach. ex Pers.) Fr. (1821); Physisporus obliquus (Ach. ex Pers.) Chevall. (1826); Poria obliqua (Ach. ex Pers.) P.Karst. (1881); Fomes obliquus (Ach. ex Pers.) Cooke (1885); Phaeoporus obliquus (Ach. ex Pers.) J.Schröt. (1888); Mucronoporus obliqua (Ach. ex Pers.) Ellis & Everh. (1889); Scindalma obliquum (Ach. ex Pers.) Kuntze (1898); Phellinus obliquus (Ach. ex Pers.) Pat. (1900); Xanthochrous obliquus (Ach. ex Pers.) Bourdot & Galzin (1928); Fuscoporia obliqua (Ach. ex Pers.) Aoshima (1951)

Inonotus obliquus, commonly called chaga (/ˈtʃɑːɡə/; a Latinisation of the Russian word чага), is a fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae. It is parasitic on birch and other trees. The sterile conk is irregularly formed and resembles burnt charcoal. It is not the fruiting body of the fungus, but a sclerotium or mass of mycelium, mostly black because of a substantial amount of melanin.^[2]^[3]

^ "Inonotus obliquus (Ach. ex Pers.) Pilát 1942". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
^ Babitskaya, VG; Shcherba, VV; Lkonnikova, NV (2000). "Melanin complex of the fungus Inonotus obliquus". Appl Biochem Microbiol. 36 (4): 377–381. doi:10.1007/BF02738046. S2CID 46047121.
^ Meuninck, Jim (2017). Foraging Mushrooms Oregon: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Mushrooms. Falcon Guides. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-4930-2669-2.