Story behind the art of Barbara Oozeerally

Curious Allies: Mutualism in Fungi, Parasites, and Carnivores

The Fifth New York Botanical Garden Triennial

Turkey Tail and Chicken of the Woods

Trametes versicolor, Laetiporus sulphureus

We live close to a small forest. The hot and dry summer of 2022, followed by a warm and rainy autumn, created the perfect conditions for all types of fungi to grow.

When The Fifth New York Botanical Garden Triennial was announced, I already had the subject of my painting close at hand. On my daily walks I could see all types of fungi growing on dead branches and fallen trees. I was spoiled for choice. These fungi play an important role in our ecosystem, helping to recycle nutrients from dead and decaying organic matter and providing food and shelter for many living creatures.

I was fascinated by the shapes and colors of Trametes versicolor, commonly known as turkey tail. It is a familiar mushroom found throughout the world. Thin, leathery to touch, and semi-circular in shape, it attacks dead deciduous trees and fallen branches. It grows all year round but is at its best in autumn. 

Trametes versicolor is believed to have health benefits for the immune system and the gut microbiome. Scientists are investigating whether extracts from the fungus could be used in anti-cancer drugs. Much work remains to be done.

The other fungus species in the painting is Laetiorus sulphureas, commonly known as chicken of the woods. As the Latin name suggests, this fungus is bright yellow when young and changes into orange with age. It has thick and crumbly flesh with a velvety upper surface and very small pores underneath. Many wild creatures are supported by this host, such as the hairy fungus beetle.

To give as much information about the chosen fungi and their habitat I had to do many sketches to make the composition pleasing to the eye and botanically correct. At the bottom of the painting, a log rests on the ground, partly covered by leaves of a beech tree, from which are protruding the turkey tail fungi. The caps are thin with clear concentric rings of a variety of colors and are layered together forming horizontal tiers.

Another large branch of this same beech tree is also covered with turkey tail fungi but of a slightly lighter color. Supported by those rotting and disintegrating logs is standing a broken branch of a birch tree with a very distinctive yellow chicken of the woods fungus just emerging from a small crack in the bark. I added a dry branch of bracken fern to emphasize the season with its dying and decaying surroundings.

The subject was a great pleasure to paint. I enjoyed depicting the shapes and the variation of colors of the fungi. It was a challenge for me to portray the layers of peeling bark exposing the decaying wood of dead trees and required a great deal of concentration and patience.

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Read more about this artist's work: Wildly Exquisite