Northern Tooth

Conservation Status

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 spore 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

Sources

24, 30, 77, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 8/22/2026).

Climacodon septentrionalis (Fr.) P. Karst. in Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Abreu, C., Acero P, A., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (2026-07-17 XR). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgykv

Mycology Collections Portal (MyCoPortal) https://www.mycoportal.org/portal/collections/index.php). Accessed 8/22/2026.