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!
