Bacteria associated with butterfly stain of Chilean tepa

Butterfly stain, common in Chilean tepa (Laureliopsis philippiana [Looser] Schodde) trees, appears in cross-section of the stem as a series of partially overlapping orange-brown arcs that in early stages resembles a butterfly. Bacterial isolates from stained tepa wood samples cultured under aerobic and anaerobic conditions were identified using several commercially available identification systems. Pseudomonas sp. were most common in the cultures handled aerobically, and Clostridium sp. were found in the cultures handled anaerobically. A pectynolitic Bacillus sp. and a Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium that emitted a strong naphthalene-like odor similar to that of stained wood were also isolated. Not all isolates could be identified. This the first report of Clostridium from tepa.