Ergot on Barley

04 Jun 2023

Ink painting/drawing of ergot on barley, caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea.

Top: The painting shows a brown barley seed head with three dark-brown ergot kernels (sclerotium), which are larger than the uninfected grains.

Middle: phytopoetry!

Bottom: Photograph used as a drawing reference. The photograph shows a blue-gloved hand holding the stem of a barley seed head. The seed head has seven dark-brown ergot kernels (only three of which are shown in the painting).

S. E. Bartholomew @Phytopoetry tweeted a haiku in response to my painting!

The tweet screenshots reads:

Human-generated haiku #phytopoetry to accompany @hgpennington’s artwork:

Ergot of barley

Tyranny of sclerotia

Death of toes and ears

Ergot sclerotia contain toxins that cause restricted blood flow extremities in livestock and people!

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Xylella on Olive