Another fungus which can also be associated with the idea of cups is _Fistulina hepatica_ Fries ‘the Beef-steak fungus’. This fungus is a polypore in the widest sense. It may grow up to 250 mm wide and is reddish-brown or liver-coloured with reddish tubes and pale flesh-coloured pores; the tubes although free are aggregated together and can be easily separated individually with the fingers. This fungus is edible although very strong in taste, it produces a serious decay of oaks. _Illustrations_: _S. commune_--LH 105; NB 125⁶; WD 69³. _F. hepatica_--F 43³ (lower figure); Hvass 278; LH 75; NB 129²; WD 101⁴. [Illustration: Plate 49. Woody fungi: Spores white and borne on split-‘gills’] (b) Destroyers of timber in buildings ~Serpula lacrymans~ (Fries) Karsten Dry-rot fungus _Description_: Fruit-body: usually widely spreading, but sometimes forming a distinct bracket with the upper surface silvery or smokey grey, flushed with lilac or rose or yellowish. Stem: absent and replaced by a series of dirty white or greyish mycelial threads or strands which can be traced up to 100 mm over the substrate. Flesh: thin, dirty yellowish and composed of only one type of hypha. Spores: borne in shallow pores which are part of a complicated network of rust-brown folds and ridges. Spore-print: rust-brown. Spores: medium sized, golden yellow, thick-walled and broadly ellipsoid, and 8-10 × 5-6 µm in size. Cystidia: absent. _Habitat_ & _Distribution_: On worked wood in buildings and less commonly in timber-yards. It can be found throughout the year. _General Information_: This fungus forms fan-like structures and strands of mycelium which pass along beams and joists and through plaster. Where there is a bad case of dry-rot, the room or building will have an unpleasant musty smell and when actually growing the fungus exudes droplets of water on the mycelium and fruit-body, i.e. weeping, hence the name ‘lacrymans’--weepy. It is a very important and destructive agent causing damage to floors and skirting boards, to joists and beams. It is a frequent pest of old houses and therefore of many of our cities. This fungus does not appear to have been found in the wild in Europe, but there is a record from the Himalayas. There are, however, very closely related species found on soil or wood-detritus. The Dry-rot fungus darkens the wood and produces a rot which makes the wood crack into small cubes or rectangular blocks. This fungus was formerly placed in _Merulius_, but this genus should be retained for hyaline-spored fungi, e.g. _M. tremellosus_ Fries, a species which grows even in winter on stumps of various trees in our woods. _Illustrations_: LH 53; WD 103³. [Illustration: Plate 50. Dry-rot fungi--leathery and tough spores borne in shallow irregular pores] ~Coniophora puteana~ (Fries) Karsten Cellar or Wet-rot fungus _Description_: