Chaga fungus smolders to hold fire for extended periods

Evidence

But cut open, the body of the conk is banded in glowing shades of gold and bronze, with the texture of spongy wood, all constructed of tiny threads and air-filled pores. Our ancestors discovered a remarkable property of this being, although some say it spoke its own use to us through its burnt exterior and golden heart. Shkitagen is a tinder fungus, a firekeeper, and a good friend to the People of the Fire. Once an ember meets shkitagen it will not go out but smolders slowly in the fungal matrix, holding its heat. Even the smallest spark, so fleeting and easily lost, will be held and nurtured if it lands on a cube of shkitagen. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 1340

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to ch66-68’s lichen/fungal mutualism material — fire held in a fungal body is another reciprocal gift. — connects to: Fire-killed conifers shed bark and resist rot for decades — Tom Wessels, Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to…, 128
• STORYSTEM: A firekeeper fungus that never lets a spark die could seed a tale about a smoldering ember carried across decades by a living body.

Broader Connections

• Fire-killed conifers shed bark and resist rot for decades #expands (0.70) — Tom Wessels, Forest Forensics, 128