Serpula lacrymans Serpula lacrymans Serpula lacrymans is one of the fungi that cause damage to timber referred to as dry rot. It is a basidiomycete in the order Boletales. The species was first described under the name "Boletus lacrymans" by Franz Xavier von Wulfen in 1781. It was transferred to the genus "Serpula" by Petter Karsten in 1884. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin words "serpula" for "creeping" (as in a serpent) and "lacrymans", meaning "making tears". "Serpula lacrymans" has a preference for temperatures of but can survive any temperature from . It is not clear how much light is
Serpula just behind the head. There is a median, longitudinal, ciliated, thoracic fecal groove on the dorsal midline of the thorax. It is a broad, shallow, relatively indistinct trough running the length of the thorax and ending at the head. Worms of the genus "Serpula" have a distinct abdominal region, composed of up to 190 very short, wide segments. The terminal body region is the tiny pygidium, on which the anus is located. A fecal groove extends the length of the ventral midline of the abdomen. The fecal groove spirals across to the dorsal position as it reaches the thoracic region.