Photo by Matt Bowser on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · photographed specimen identified as Inonotus obliquus sterilis, a close relative
Chaga
Inonotus obliquus
- When
- Typically November – April — November, December, January, February, March, April. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Living birch trees in cold northern forest — easiest to spot with the leaves down.
- How to know it
- A black, cracked, charcoal-like mass bursting out of a birch trunk, rusty orange-brown and corky inside.
- Look-alikes
- Burls and old black knots are woody through; chaga's orange interior is the tell.
- Harvest and use
- Chunks simmered for tea. Take only part of a conk, leave the rest, and never take from a dead tree.
- Caution
- Slow-growing and now heavily over-harvested. Take sparingly, and never from a small tree.
Found in these regions
- Boreal Forest & Shield
- Boreal North & Taiga
- Acadian Forest & Atlantic Coast
- Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Lowlands
Hardiness zones 1–5.
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.