Biscogniauxia nummularia decline of European beech ("Fagus sylvatica") in Sicily and Calabria (Italy) has been linked to "B. nummularia" and experiments have suggested that this ascomycete plays a primary pathogenic role under certain environmental conditions. It typically causes strip‐cankering and general wood decay. Biscogniauxia nummularia Biscogniauxia nummularia is a plant pathogen in the family Xylariaceae, known as the beech tarcrust. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin "nummus" meaning a coin, referring to the often rounded and coin-like encrustations. The fruit body forms a thick and shiny black crust, on beech ("Fagus") bark and is found at all times of the
Nyssa sylvatica in the Northeast is "pepperidge." On Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts, this species is called "beetlebung", perhaps for its use in making the mallet known as a beetle, used for hammering bungs (stoppers) into barrels. "Nyssa sylvatica" grows to tall, rarely to , with a trunk diameter of , rarely up to . These trees typically have a straight trunk with the branches extending outward at right angles. The bark is dark gray and flaky when young, but it becomes furrowed with age, resembling alligator hide on very old stems. The twigs of this tree are reddish-brown, usually hidden by a