I have seen chaga before but wasn't able to harvest it because it was way up in a tree. I do buy a chaga powder and drink some with my tea every now and then for health benefits. The bay boletes are ok tasting but nothing compared to the king boletes from Europe.
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Hahaha! Yes, you need to scale the tree a bit and also take a hatchet. I thought you'd be familiar with chaga, that's why I asked. It's excellent medicine.
The king boletes must be much larger (in my imagination).
Oh yeah the king boletes are huge, theoretically they grow here too but very rarely. Next time I go up to the northwoods I'll remember to bring a telescoping saw for chaga. One big chunk of chaga can last quite a while.
I looked them up to see and they are huge! They must be rarer where you are. I've never heard of them here, even from the fungi foragers I know. Yes, a saw or some way of cutting it. It's quite woody in texture. I had a large chunk and ended up using my carving chisel on it to split it. My friend has something he wears on his boots, probably some kind of climbing thing so he can get up to where they are. One large chunk will last you quite a while. It's good to note where they are and leave part of the chaga intact to grow back (from what my friend told me, I've never harvested one).