This hard, black plug looks like a big chunk of burnt charcoal. The internal rot caused by the clinker fungus can be 1.5-1.8 meters above and below the conk. Birches are the target of these odd fungi. The wikipedia entry indicates that this mushroom has long been used in folk medicine as a cure for a number of ailments. Would you try it?  |
| Craig and the clinker fungus, October 9th, 2011 |
Defect: Clinker (cinder) fungus (inonotus obliquus)
Defect importance: Major
Tree Species: Yellow Birch (betula alleghaniensis)
Collected from: Baldwin Pond, Baldwin's Mills Quebec
Date Collected: October 9th, 2011
Professor: Erroll Downey, Course: Forest Health
