Chaga, King of Plants, the Cancer Polypore
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is a parasitic bracket fungus which grows on living Birch trees (it slowly kills them like a cancerous growth) across the entire northern hemisphere. It is used in traditional folk medicine by native peoples throughout northern Eurasia and North America. In Russian and Baltic folk medicine it is used specifically for treating cancers and tumours. The name Chaga which is used in Russia is from the Komi-Permyak native peoples of the Kama basin west of the Ural mountains in Russia. It