Name: Poria obligua; Polyporus obliquus.
English: Black birch touchwood; Birch mushroom, Clinker polypore; Pilat; Chaga.
Content: Inooidiol, oxygenated triterpenes, trametenolic acid, tannins, steroids, alkaloid-oramine-like compounds like obliquol, trimethylsilyl ethers, inotodiol, pteroiloglatamic acid.
Mycology: parasitic-saprophytic canker conk; black masses, as if charred or burned.
Habitat: mostly on birch, also on elder and beech.
Use: cleansing after menses; ritual washing.