Wood-decay fungus

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A wood-decay fungus is a variety of fungus which has the ability to digest wood, causing it to rot. Wood-decay fungi include those which attack dead wood, such as dry rot, and those which are parasitic on living trees, such as Armillaria (Honey fungus). Fungi that not only grow on wood but actually cause it to decay, are called lignicolous fungi. They do not necessarily need to decay lignin in the wood to be termed lignicolous. Dry rot fungi decay cellulose in wood leaving behind the lignin as the brown crumbly remains.

[edit] See also

• Brown rot
• White rot
• Dry rot

[edit] References

• The Microbial World: Armillaria mellea and other wood-decay fungi by Jim Deacon, Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, The University of Edinburgh