Chaga (Latin for the Russian word 'чага'), (Inonotus obliquus), also known as coal nose, is a fungus of the Hymenochaetaceae family. It is a parasitic fungus on white birch and other trees. The sterile nose is irregularly shaped and has the appearance of charred carbon. The fertile body can be found very rarely as a fungus resupinate (crustose) on or near the foundation, usually appears after the host tree is completely dead. I. obliquus grows in birch forests of Russia, Korea, eastern or northern Europe, northern areas of the United States, in the mountains of North Carolina and Canada. The fungus Chaga is considered a medicinal mushroom that has a place among the home remedies of Russia and Eastern Europe