Serpula himantioides Serpula himantioides Serpula himantioides is a species of fungus that causes damage to timber referred to as dry rot. It is a basidiomycete in the order Boletales. It has been found on all continents except for Antarctica. Recent molecular work demonstrates that "S. himantioides" is a species complex including multiple cryptic lineages. The fungus was first described in 1818 by Elias Magnus Fries as "Merulius himantioides". Petter Karsten transferred it to the genus "Serpula" in 1884. "Serpula himantioides" is a fungal pathogen within the division Basidiomycota. It produces thin, resupinate (inverted), membranous fan-like basidiocarps that are brownish in color and
Atromentic acid compound to p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid and oxalic acid. Atromentic acid Atromentic acid is a red-organge pigment found in fungi within the Boletales group. It is the precusor to variegatic acid and xerocomic acid, and is preceded by atromentin. As an example, it is isolated from "Serpula lacrymans". It is soluble in methanol. Variants include homoatromentic acid. This pigment has been studied and elucidated by Wolfgang Steglich and colleagues over decades . When atromentin is oxidised with hydrogen peroxide a yellow product is produced. A sodium hydroxide solution is also yellow, but when this is neutralized with acid the red atromentic acid