Weird, Wild and Wonderful

Botanical artists have traditionally depicted conventionally beautiful plants, such as orchids, irises, and others known to be pleasant to view. Weird, Wild, & Wonderful: The Second New York Botanical Garden Triennial Exhibition features plants not always thought of as beautiful but rather eccentric, intriguing, and mysterious. Botanical specimens represented in the exhibition include Buddha’s hand (Citrus medica); shield fern (Polystichum sp.); wasabi (Eutrema japonica); heirloom tomato (Solanum lycopersicum); violet hedgehog mushroom (Sarcodon fuscoindicum); Dog turd fungus with pill bug (Pisolithus tinctorius & Armadillidium vulgare); Romanesco cauliflower (Brassica oleracea); and many others. Media included are watercolor, oil, colored pencil, tempera, graphite, gouache, acrylic, aquatint etching, and pen and ink.