Northern Tooth

(Climacodon septentrionalis)

Conservation Status
Northern Tooth
Photo by Jeff Lindbom
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

not listed

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Northern Tooth is a widespread and fairly common tooth fungus. It is not poisonous but is not edible due to a bitter taste and a tough texture.

The fruiting body is annual and often massive, up to 20 tall and 10 wide. It consists of tight, overlapping layers of shelf-like caps joined at the base by a whitish plate. It lives high on the trunks if living hardwood trees (parasitic), especially sugar maple, but also other maples, green ash, and beech. It is sometimes found on recently dead trees and stumps but is rarely found on fallen logs. It enters the tree through a wound and causes heartwood rot. It has a sour smell when it is fresh, an unpleasant, rancid odor as it dries.

There is no stem.

The brackets (caps) are fan-shaped; convex, flat, or slightly depressed; 4 to 6 across; 1 to 4¾ deep; and ¾ to 2 thick at the base, becoming thinner toward the margin. They are cream-colored to chamois yellow when fresh, turning brownish when dry. The upper surface is dry and rough to the touch and may be densely hairy. It has very faint concentric zones. The margin is sharp and becomes rolled inward when dry.

The pore surface on the underside of the bracket consists of numerous, tightly packed, downward-pointing spines. The spines are cylinder-shaped, up to ½ long, and sharply pointed. They are tapered from the base to the tip, so that spores falling straight down will not be obstructed by the surface of the tooth further down. They are creamy yellow when fresh, becoming brownish and fragile when dry. The sport print is white.

The flesh is white and tough.

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat and Hosts
 
 

Living hardwoods, especially sugar maple, but also other maples

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Season

 
 

July to October

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 24, 26, 29, 30, 77.

 
  1/27/2023      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Widespread and fairly common in northeastern United States

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Fungi (fungi)  
  Subkingdom Dikarya  
  Division Basidiomycota (club fungi)  
  Subdivision Agaricomycotina (jelly fungi, yeasts, and mushrooms)  
  Class Agaricomycetes (mushrooms, bracket fungi, puffballs, and allies)  
  Subclass Agaricomycetidae  
  Order Polyporales (shelf fungi)  
  Family Meruliaceae  
  Genus Climacodon  
       
 

Tooth fungi do not form a single taxonomic group. They are characterized by having a spore-producing surface with spines, or “teeth”, instead of pores or tubes.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Climacodon septentrionale

Creolophus septentrionalis

Hydnum septentrionale

Hydnum septentrionale var. hortense

Hydnum septentrionale f. ramicola

Hydnum septentrionale var. septentrionale

Hydnum septentrionale f. septentrionale

Steccherinum septentrionale

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

Northern Tooth

Northern Tooth Fungus

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Parasitic

Obtaining nutrients from another living organism.

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

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LSegar

 
 

At base of maple tree

     
    Northern Tooth      
 

Kirk Nelson

 
 

Growing on a silver maple

  Northern Tooth  
           
 

Same specimen, two months later

  Northern Tooth  
 

Jeff Lindbom

 
    Northern Tooth   Northern Tooth  
 

Bill Reynolds

 
 

Parasitic; in dense overlapping clusters on trunks of living deciduous trees, particularly maple and beech

  Northern Tooth  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

 

 
           

 

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Other Videos
 
  Northern Tooth Mushroom - Climacodon Septentrionalis
Mariana Roberts
 
   
 
About

Published on Aug 3, 2013

Northern Tooth (Climacodon Septentrionalis)

More Information: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/climacodon_septentrionalis.html

Identification: Overlapping yellowish-white annual shelves with toothed undersides found on living hardwoods, especially maples.

Season of fruiting: Late summer-fall

Ecosystem function: Spongy heart rot

Fungal Note: This fungus fruits only occasionally on individual trees, and its teeth can reach 10-15 mm in length.

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this fungus.

 
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Be sure to include a location.
 
  LSegar
8/27/2018

Location: Excelsior, MN

At base of maple tree

Northern Tooth  
  Kirk Nelson
10/16/2016

Location: Lebanon Hills Regional Park

Same specimen, two months later

Northern Tooth  
  Kirk Nelson
8/21/2016

Location: Lebanon Hills Regional Park

Growing on a silver maple

Northern Tooth  
  Jeff Lindbom
9/1/2014

Location: Marinette County, Wisconsin

Northern Tooth  
  Bill Reynolds
10/2/2005

Location: growing on the side of a Maple in Cook Co Mn

Parasitic; in dense overlapping clusters on trunks of living deciduous trees, particularly maple and beech

Northern Tooth  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

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