Inonotus obliquus

Chaga is a fungus that prefers living on the Birch tree as a parasite. It belongs to the family of Hymenochaetaceae. Since the Birch tree normally grows in cold places, this means the Chaga mushroom prefers cold climates too. Hence it is abundantly found in Russia and Korea. There is plenty of it too in Northern and Eastern Europe. It can also be found on the Northern part of America and in the mountains of North Carolina.

The Chaga mushroom has a black look because it has high levels of melanin, the dark colour pigment. It is valued mostly because of its medicinal properties.

Reference: www.medicalmushrooms.net