Eriodictyon traskiae ssp. smithii Illustration Plate

Description:

A black and white digital illustration plate of Smith’s Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon traskiae ssp. smithii) showing several inflorescences and leaves on a stem. The inflorescences are mostly made of flower buds and flowers in several stages of development, including a mature fruiting body. Also included in the inflorescences are 6 large flower galls created by the larvae of gall midges within Genus Asphondylia.

To the left of the illustration of several inflorescences are three detail illustrations: a flower gall shown in a lateral and face view, and a mature fruit gall (the smaller of the detail illustrations) in lateral view. Leader lines connect each detail spot illustration to an example of the same structure within the inflorescence illustration.

This illustration plate was created for the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden as part of my work as their 2023 Science Illustration Fellow. For this project, as well as the other two I completed during my time working for the botanic garden, I worked with members of the research team to create illustrations intended for use in published research papers and in public education.

Medium: digital pen and ink (Procreate and Adobe Photoshop)