The finding puts to rest the idea that an asteroid impact may have had a hand in the massive destruction (Source: iStockphoto)

All across the supercontinent Pangea, what were once lush forests lay in ruins: the corpses of trees poking like matchsticks into the poisoned air.

In their place fungus ruled the land, feasting on defunct wood, spreading across the planet in an orgy of decay.

The finding, published in the journal Geology, offers evidence against an alternative theory that rampant algae fed off the dead forests and puts to rest an old idea that an asteroid impact may have had a hand in the massive destruction.