The damaged wall with fruit bodies

Dry rot would appear to be an oxymoronic term seemingly indicating decay of a substance without the presence of water. However, its historical usage dates back to the distinction between decay of cured wood in construction, i.e. dry wood, versus decay of wood in living or newly felled trees, i.e. wet wood^[1]. The term has been applied to the decay of timber in buildings and other wooden structures by certain fungi, the decay of crop plants by fungi and the deterioration of rubber. In addition, the term can be used as a metaphor for grave underlying problems within a large organization (such as political corruption in government or low morale in the armed forces) that show no symptoms until a sudden, catastrophic failure, much as dry rot of wood in ships caused catastrophic failure. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Look up oxymoron in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Divisions Chytridiomycota Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota The Fungi (singular: fungus) are a large group of organisms ranked as a kingdom within the Domain Eukaryota. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ... World map of the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, which measures the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. High numbers (green) indicate relatively less corruption, whereas lower numbers (red) indicate relatively more corruption. ... Alternate cover US 1979 and 2002 reissue cover, also known as paint spatter cover For the military meaning, see Armed forces. ...

The term is most commonly used in reference to the decay of building timbers. It refers to damage inflicted by either: Serpula lacrymans (formerly Merulius lacrymans) predominantly in the United Kingdom and northern Europe; and/or Meruliporia incrassata (which has a number of synonyms, including Poria incrassata and Serpula incrassata) in North America. Both species of fungus cause brown rot decay, preferentially removing cellulose and hemicellulose from the timber leaving a brittle matrix of modified lignin. Eventually the decay can cause instability and collapse in houses, wooden ships' hulls, and other wooden structures. Categories: Possible copyright violations ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... Cellulose as polymer of β-D-glucose Cellulose in 3D Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a polysaccharide of beta-glucose. ... A hemicellulose can be any of several heteropolymers (matrix polysaccharides) present in almost all cell walls along with cellulose. ... Lignin (sometimes lignen) is a chemical compound (complex, highly cross-linked aromatic polymer) that is most commonly derived from wood and is an integral part of the cell walls of plants, especially in tracheids, xylem fibres and sclereids. ...

When applied to these fungi, the term is a somewhat misleading misnomer as both species require an elevated moisture content to initiate an attack on timber (28-30%). Once established, the fungi can remain active in timber with a moisture content over 20% - in the same way as other timber decay fungi using the brown rot decay mechanism. Dew on a spider web Moldy bread Moisture generally refers to the presence of water, often in trace amounts. ...

Historical use of term

‘Dry rot’ is an eighteenth century term for a brown rot. The term was used because the damage was thought to be caused by internal ‘fermentations’ rather than water.

The (London) Times on Tuesday, March 12, 1793 carries an advertisement that informs the reader that THE BRITISH COLOUR COMPANY, No. 32, Walbrook, London continues to use, manufacture and sell paints prepared with the Oil of Coal, which is of a very penetrating nature, and hardens wood in an uncommon degree protecting it from weather, dry rot and ice.

In the early nineteenth century the rapid increase in instances of timber decay attributed to dry rot (brown rot) in the British naval fleet brought the term into wider usage. The second HMS Queen Charlotte was launched in 1810 and, when inspected, the timbers of the upper decks were found to be infected with 'the dry rot'. A. Bowden of the Navy Office published 'A Treatise on the Dry-Rot' in 1815 following his investigation of the matter. Four ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Queen Charlotte after Charlotte, queeen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom. ...

Texts published in the nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries restrict the term to fungi which produced substantial (white coloured) mycelium including; Antrodia (Fibroporia) viallantii. Eventually, the term came to apply to only one or two fungi: the main one being Serpula lacrymans, which subsequently became known as 'true dry rot'.

Schilling & Jellison^[2] define dry rot fungi as: "a specific group of brown rot fungi that efficiently translocate water via mycelial cords." They cite M. incrassata, S. himantoides and S. lacrymans as dry rot fungi. There is no reference for how efficient a brown rot fungus has to be at translocating water in order to be classed a 'dry rot'. Water translocated in this fashion carries nutrients to the extremities of the organism; not, as is sometimes inferred, to render dry timber wet enough to attack. Coggins^[3] goes into more detail about water movement in S. lacrymans.

Treatment (of timber decay fungi identified as 'dry rot')

There are epoxy treatments available that kill rot by filling in the channels of the damaged wood, killing the rot and restoring structural integrity. Commercial anti-freeze is also very effective at preventing dry rot formation as well as killing the fungus.

References

See also

• Wet rot
• Brown rot
• White rot

For Brown rot of trees and wood see Dry rot. ...

External links

• Dry rot and its control (in buildings)
• Fungi in buildings
• Biological growths in buildings
• Dry Rot in property explained
• [1]