Chaga

noun

Cha·​ga ˈchä-gə 

variants or Chaga mushroom or less commonly chaga or chaga mushroom

plural Chaga or Chagas or Chaga mushrooms

: the dark brown to black, irregularly shaped, sterile, mycelial mass of a fungus (Inonotus obliquus of the family Hymenochaetaceae) that grows parasitically chiefly on hardwood trees and especially birch in temperate climates of the northern hemisphere

Note: The Chaga has a hard, deeply cracked surface said to resemble charred wood and a yellow- to orange-brown, somewhat fleshy interior. It has a bitter taste and is used mainly in folk medicine and as an herbal supplement.

It takes years for Chaga to show itself after growing inside the tree, a phenomenon which is rare in mushrooms.

—Ella Wilson

Because chaga in its raw form is not the most digestible of Mother Nature's bounty, it's usually ground up and brewed as tea.

—EmmaJean Holley

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Russian čága, borrowed from Komi (Finno-Ugric language of northeast European Russia) čaga, čaka "fungus growing on a tree (as a pore fungus), tinder"

First Known Use

1957, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Chaga

• aga
• saga
• chickamauga
• onondaga
• saxifraga