View Halling Painting -- Return to Paintings Home
 |
Ph.D.: University of Massachusetts, 1980
Title: Curator
Research: Fungi: Basidiomycetes - Agaricales (mushrooms) of Costa Rica
My research centers on mushrooms and their truffle-like allies. Much of this work has occurred in montane Neotropical oak forests, especially in Costa Rica. I am also interested in the symbiotic (mycorrhizal) relationships between mushrooms and forest trees as well as the impact of these relationships on ecological requirements and biogeography.
My original curator painting illustrates two wood decay fungi (Lentinellus castoreus and Pleurotus dryinus), five symbiotic mushrooms (Amanita conara, Boletellus russellii, Boletus frostii, Lactarius indigo, and Rozites colombiana), and one truffle (Hydnotrya tulasnei). The truffle is being eaten by a local rodent which then disperses the spores in its feces. The mycelium of the truffle is shown attached and is part of a symbiotic (ectomycorrhizal) relationship with oak tree roots.