Serpula (fungus) are formed. The strand mycelium of "Serpula", which can be up to 8 mm thick, are invasive and can spread over non-nutritive surfaces to find new food sources, even spreading through pores in stone, brickwork, and cement. After its initial growth period, the fungus can produce the water it needs and can continue growth into dry timber, eventually degrading it to powder—hence the term "dry rot". "S. lacrymans" is the most serious cause of building timber decay in the UK and northern Europe. The "Dictionary of the Fungi" (10th edition, 2008), suggests that the genus contains two species. , the
The Society for the Preservation of Historic Buildings The Society for the Preservation of Historic Buildings The Society for the Preservation of Historic Buildings of the United Kingdom was founded initially as a pressure group to counter the demolition of historic buildings and it resolved later to acquire historically significant properties in order to maintain and protect them itself. In a 2007 merger, the goodwill of the Society was acquired by a registered Nonprofit organisation, Ruins on the Roam Limited, which adopted the Society's name and assets, with the intention to continue its work. The Society is noted in an architectural journal of 1969. The Society was dissolved