Is this the beginning of Chaga?

[Sundowner]

https://s26.postimg.cc/ykz2tkm6h/20180522_155600.jpg

 

[Billy-o]

Don't know ... what is that seeping/staining stuff around it?

https://chaga.ca/pages/what-is-chaga

 

[Monikieman]

It kinda looks like chaga but a wee bit wet!! Maybe a botched attempt to tap the tree? Any signs of a plug? I've found chaga as far south as Dundee. Don't know if anyone has found it further south.

 

[quietone]

It kinda looks like chaga but a wee bit wet!! Maybe a botched attempt to tap the tree? Any signs of a plug? I've found chaga as far south as Dundee. Don't know if anyone has found it further south.

I've seen that type of thing, on many of our native birch since a teenager. I always thought it some king of fungus or related disease. I've never seen it develop any futher than what is depicted in the op's photo. Does southern Normandy count? or do you mean just the UK?

 

[Monikieman]

I've seen that type of thing, on many of our native birch since a teenager. I always thought it some king of fungus or related disease. I've never seen it develop any futher than what is depicted in the op's photo. Does southern Normandy count? or do you mean just the UK?
View attachment 49163

Mmmmmmm. I've heard folks coming up from England to Scotland to find it as there's none down in the Shire. May be different from country to country.

 

[quietone]

I have a question regarding the effectiveness of the chaga, if it's been collected a few years, and not 'fresh' from the birch? Not the tinder side of things, the tonic, health boosting side. Anyone have experience of the taste getting weaker? I know some folks get differing flavours from it, but wondered on the strength of that flavour over time.

 

[awarner]

Late reply but does it smell something like cider / vinegar wondering if may be slime flux caused by wet rot?
Had some on a oak recently and found a large beetle on its completely wasted after enjoying itself on the fermenting slime, put him back on his feet and headed straight for the slime again. Probably going to have a big headache after that.

 

[Janne]

Statistics show that the Russian consume most Chaga.
Statistics also show most cases of cannibalism today are in Russia.

 

[Trig]

I found a birch tree a few weeks ago with the same black stuff on it, though more widespread. I actually thought the tree had been set on fire from a distance which was why i noticed it. Should have taken a photo, also interested what it is.

 

[Janne]

The fungus visible outside the tree bole is of a limited size. I have seen sizes up to football size.
Once the fungus inside the wood gets large, the tree dies.