THE fungus Lentinus lepideus Fr. is a frequent cause of decay in worked timber, particularly in imperfectly creosoted material. It is often associated with the rotting of railway sleepers, telegraph poles and paving blocks, which it is able to attack on account of its tolerance of a comparatively high concentration of creosote. It is also an important factor in the decay of timber in mines. In culture it frequently produces well formed crystals in the medium or on the walls of the culture vessel and it has a strong, sweet, aromatic odour which is said to resemble that of Peru balsam. The present investigation was undertaken in order to identify the crystalline substance formed and if possible to determine the cause of the characteristic odour.
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Birkinshaw et al. (1940) studied this question.