Dry Rot

The smelly Dry Rot Fungus is the most destructive fungus that has ever lived closely with man. It can spread to dry areas of wood, once it has started growing on moist wood. This brown fungus is like a creeping monster, spreading through wood, such as the timber that holds buildings together. It cracks the wood into cube shaped blocks, and eventually crumbles it into a powder. If you notice paint cracking, or wooden boards bending, it may be due to Dry Rot lurking below. White strands grow out of the rot, and will grow through the toughest plaster, brickwork, stone or metal, in order to find more wood. If the white strands cannot find a new beam of wood on which to feed, the Dry Rot it will stop creeping, and grow into a horrible-looking fleshy pancake. If left alone, this pancake will grow to be hundreds of centimetres across. It produces millions and millions of reddish-brown spores, which spread in the air currents to find new floorboards or wooden beams on which to grow.