Serpula (fungus) cover the surface they are growing on (known as the substrate). The hymenophore, or spore-forming surface, generally has a wrinkled appearance. The species grow on, and digest, mainly coniferous wood, causing a process known as brown rot. One species, dry rot ("S. lacrymans"), is a highly destructive agent of houses. Damp structural timber is an ideal substrate for the germination of "Serpula" spores. The fungal hyphae penetrate the wood and release enzymes that break down structural polysaccharides such as cellulose. There may be no external indications that the fungus is present until the rot is far advanced and fruit bodies
Serpula (fungus) Serpula (fungus) Serpula is a genus of fungi in the family Serpulaceae. The term was originally defined by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon as a section of the genus "Merulius" in 1801. British botanist Samuel Frederick Gray raised it to genus status in his 1821 work "The Natural Arrangement of British Plants". The name is derived from the Latin verb "serpěre" "to creep". Synonyms include Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link's 1809 "Xylophagous", Christian Hendrik Persoon's 1825 "Xylomyzon", Narcisse Théophile Patouillard's 1874 "Gyrophora", and Patouillard's 1897 "Gyrophana". "Serpula" forms a clade with at least two other closely related genera, "Austropaxillus" and "Gymnopaxillus", the three