Northboro
1/4/11
Black Birch 5 years later.
Still alive and produced 3 pounds
of Chaga. Nectria galligena damage with Chaga growing
around the edge.
At the widest part the tree is about 2.5 feet in diameter.
Pieces of Chaga on a cutting
board. The piece on the bottom and center right has bark attached.
Inner flesh color.
Inner flesh color where attached
to the tree.
Close-up of small piece (1.5"
wide) showing
marbling. The white part is not mold. This kind of "marbling" is
common to Chaga that is closest to the surface of the birch. I suspect
that this is the color of the mycelium as it comes out the tree. Later it
turns yellow then brown and on the surface, exposed to the air, it turns black.
When Chaga gets wet the color brown is dissolved and in turn changes the color
of the strand that are white or yellow. This "marbling" is not present in
Chaga which is further from the surface of the tree. The moisture from the
rain evens out the color of Chaga that is furthest from the surface of the tree.
Chaga Lookalike
Guill identified the Chaga
lookalike shown here:
http://www.mushroomhunter.net/102108.htm
Here is one other that I found in Grafton.
Here is one that was growing on an American Beech in the
Berkshires.