First described in 1821 by Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries, it has since acquired an extensive synonymy of alternate scientific names.

[4] Climacocystis borealis is both a saprophyte and a secondary pathogen that causes a heart rot in the roots and bole of host trees.

[5] The fruiting bodies attach directly to the wood, usually in single brackets but sometimes joined.

The caps are whitish to yellowish, 5–15 centimetres (2–6 in) wide and 2–5 cm (3⁄4–2 in) thick, with no stipe.

[6] Many Polyporales genera include similar polypores, typically smaller than those of Climacocystis.