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) composing the family Serpulaceae. It is thought that the common ancestor was saprotrophic,and that ancestor to the latter two genera became mycorrhizal. Using molecular clock analysis, the split between "Austropaxillus" and "Serpula" has been estimated to have occurred about 34.9 mya, roughly coinciding with the separation of South America and Australia from Antarctica. The number of species is uncertain – the two species "S. lacrymans" and "S. himantioides" have been considered to be a single species, or the latter species has possibly five cryptic species within its complex. The members of the genus "Serpula" form flat brown fruit bodies that