Butt rot is a disease of
plants, mostly
trees, caused by
fungi. The fungus attacks the moist, poorly protected undersurface of tree trunk's thickest part (the "butt" above the root, as opposed to "top"), where the end of the
stem
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
makes contact with the
soil. It may affect the roots as well, causing a disease known as
root rot
Root rot is a condition in which anoxic conditions in the soil or potting media around the roots of a plant cause them to rot. This occurs due to excessive standing water around the roots. It is found in both indoor and outdoor plants, although ...
. It then moves up into the interior of the plant, producing a roughly conical column of dead, rotted plant matter, up to one and a half meters long in severe cases. Such an infection is likely to impair the transport properties of the
xylem tissue found at the center of the stem. It also weakens the stem and makes the plant more vulnerable to toppling. One particularly virulent species of fungus associated with butt rot is ''
Serpula himantioides
''Serpula himantioides'' is a species of fungus that causes damage to timber referred to as dry rot. It is a basidiomycete in the order Boletales. It has been found on all continents except for Antarctica. Recent molecular work demonstrates that ...
''.
See also
* ''
Ganoderma zonatum
''Ganoderma zonatum'' is a plant pathogen that infects the palm species causing butt rot. It is a fungus that infects the bottom of the plant also rotting the roots. It has been known to be in both natural and planted environments and in the ma ...
''
* ''
Phaeolus schweinitzii''
External links
Root and Butt Rots of Oaks– North Carolina State University
Fungal tree pathogens and diseases
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