Fungus · GBIF taxon 2541815
Northern Tooth
Climacodon septentrionalisAlso known as Northern Tooth Fungus, Northern Tooth Bracket, White Rot Fungus
Northern tooth forms massive, tiered clusters of overlapping shelf-like caps on the trunks of living hardwood trees, particularly maples and beeches. The undersides of these fresh white shelves are packed with soft, pointed, tooth-like spines that drop spores into forest winds. As a parasitic heart-rot pathogen, it slowly weakens the structural heartwood of host trees while creating important decay habitat for forest insects.
Bracket FungusTooth FungusTree Pathogen
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Hardwood heartwood
- Tree sapwood
- Wood lignin
Predators
- Fungus beetles
- Fungus gnats
- Slugs
ThreatsForest clearing, removal of mature host trees
HabitatsDeciduous forests, living hardwood tree trunks
Life spanFruiting bodies persist several weeks; mycelium lives for years
Classification
- OrderPolyporales
- FamilyMeruliaceae
- GenusClimacodon
- SpeciesClimacodon septentrionalis
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Many wild fungi have toxic look-alikes; never eat wild mushrooms based on app identification alone.
Responsible observation
- Observe host trees: Scan mature living maples and beeches during late summer for large white clusters.
- Inspect the underside: Look for dense hanging spines rather than typical pores or gills.
- Respect the tree: Avoid tearing fruiting bodies off trunks to prevent damaging the bark.
Look-Alike no rights reserved · cc0
Host Plant (c) James St. John, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
Spine-Bearing Fungus (c) Katja Schulz, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
Close Relative Henk Monster / CC BY 3.0 · cc-by
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