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
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (sometimes known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb and others, in 1877; to oppose what they saw as destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings then occurring in Victorian England; 'ancient' being used in the wider sense of 'very old' rather than the more usual modern one of 'pre-medieval'. Morris was particularly concerned about the practice, which he described as 'forgery', of attempting to return functioning buildings to an idealised state from the distant past, which often involved the removal