Story behind the art of Ann Hoffenberg

Curious Allies: Mutualism in Fungi, Parasites, and Carnivores

The Fifth New York Botanical Garden Triennial

Bleeding Rosette Fungus

Abortiporus biennis

My interest in fungi has spanned many years and I happened upon this amazing specimen of Abortiporus biennis, blushing rosette, in a residential area while on a walk with a friend. We were astonished, with mouths open, not only by its beauty and its strangeness, but also that we would see such a thing growing in someone’s lawn. We took several photos. When the theme for this exhibition was announced, my mind immediately turned to the bleeding rosette. A wood-rotting fungus common to temperate forests of the northern hemisphere, it grows most frequently on hardwood but occasionally on conifers as well, living or dead. It can grow on roots buried in the soil which is what I believe was happening in this case, because it was not close to a tree. The fungus gets the food it needs by breaking down the wood. 

More often than not, this fungus grows as an amorphous mass of whitish mazelike pores, the pores being the source of spores that will ultimately reproduce the fungus. But as sometimes happens, the mass is also surrounded by a rosette of curvy brownish plates with pale margins as can be seen on the specimen in my painting. While this fungus is known to exude liquid at a particular stage of its development, the conditions must be just right for this to happen, as was clearly the case with this specimen. Its fruiting body normally emerges in autumn, and this was, indeed, October. 

In my research I discovered this species has some practical industrial applications. It contains a wide variety of enzymes that break down lignin and phenolic compounds and is therefore often applied in environmental biotechnologies. Some of its unusual enzymes show promise for breaking down polystyrene, a plastic that is widely used to protect consumer products. Some familiar types of such packaging are egg cartons, DVD cases, and foam packing peanuts. 

The most significant challenge I faced in creating this image was depicting the drops of liquid, something I had never painted before. While there were some instructional videos on the internet for painting raindrops and dewdrops, I didn’t find them particularly helpful, so I observed the drops carefully and figured out how to depict them after a good deal of experimentation and practice. I also struggled with the decision as to whether to have the painted image float in space or to give it a background. I decided that I wanted it to look grounded and I used graphite so as not to have the background distract from the fungus itself.

My friend and I still occasionally reminisce about the day we discovered the blushing rosette, and we experience the thrill all over again.

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Read more about this artist's work: Wildly Exquisite