Climacodon septentrionale

[ Basidiomycetes > Polyporales > Meruliaceae > Climacodon . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

Climacodon septentrionale (AKA Climacodon septentrionalis) is usually impressive, forming massive clusters that can be seen from many yards away. At this distance it looks like a polypore, growing on dead hardwoods or from the wounds of living trees. But while it is officially in the order Polyporales, it has teeth on its underside, rather than pores, and is usually treated with the toothed mushrooms in field guides.

The fruiting bodies of Climacodon septentrionale are extremely durable and can last for many weeks--long enough, in fact, that the caps of old specimens often begin to take on a greenish hue as a result of colonizing algae. The mushroom is parasitic, causing a heartwood rot, and is especially fond of maples and beech; it is frequently found growing from the wounds of these trees, high above the ground.

Climacodon septentrionale is inedible, due to its tough texture and unpleasant taste.

Description:

Ecology: Parasitic on hardwoods, especially maples and beech; growing in large shelf-like clusters in the wounds of living trees, or on recently dead stumps or trunks; summer and fall; northeastern North America.

Caps: Up to 30 cm across and 5 cm thick at the base; convex, flat, or shallowly depressed; kidney-shaped or semicircular in outline; sticky or dry; hairy or roughened; whitish, becoming yellowish with age; sometimes with fine concentric zones of texture.

Undersurface: Spines 1-2.5 cm long; tightly packed; white at first, becoming yellowish with age.

Stem: Absent, but caps sharing a whitish base.

Flesh: White; tough; unchanging when sliced; zoned.

Taste: Mild when young, but bitter or unpleasant in age; odor not distinctive, becoming foul with age.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 2.5-3 x 4-5.5 µ; smooth; elliptical.

REFERENCES: (Fries) Karsten. (Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Roody, 2003.) Herb. Kuo 09300404.

Further Online Information:

Climacodon septentrionale at Tom Volk's Fungi
Climacodon septentrionale at Fungi of Poland

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2004, November). Climacodon septentrionale. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/climacodon_septentrionale.html