How Chaga Mushroom Can Help You Be Healthy

Reader Contribution by Susanna Raeven
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Chaga mushroom – Inonotus obliquus – the birch loving mushroom that does not look like one, is an ancient remedy that has been valued for its many health benefits for centuries. You will find it while walking through temperate forests looking for encrusted black formations on wounded or dying white birch trees. The sterile and cork like mycelium grows out of remaining tree cavities after storms and other impacts break branches, as if to cover the tree’s wound and protect it from invading micro organism. A tree and its chaga companion can co-exist for many years and the mushroom can be harvested several times over the course of time.

Before harvesting anything, be it in the wild or in my garden, especially before I harvest any kind of medicinals, I approach the plant or tree with respect, a prayer of gratitude and a pinch of tobacco as an offering. If you like to read more about how harvesting can be a spiritual practice and deepen your relationship with the natural world, you can read my blog, Wild Crafting: A Plant Meditation.

How to Harvest Chaga

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