Minnesota Seasons - Northern Tooth

Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

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


	Biology
	Season
	July to October


	Distribution
			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 (mushroom-forming fungi)
	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.


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	LSegar

	At base of maple tree



	Kirk Nelson

	Growing on a silver maple

	Same specimen, two months later


	Jeff Lindbom




	Bill Reynolds

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



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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.

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LSegar 8/27/2018	Location: Excelsior, MN At base of maple tree



Kirk Nelson 10/16/2016	Location: Lebanon Hills Regional Park Same specimen, two months later



Kirk Nelson 8/21/2016	Location: Lebanon Hills Regional Park Growing on a silver maple



Jeff Lindbom 9/1/2014	Location: Marinette County, Wisconsin



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



MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings