“Volnus” is Latin for “wound”. This branch of black walnut was discovered with a perennial target canker. Perennial cankers slowly develop over many years, sometimes with seemingly little effect on the overall health of the tree. The fungal pathogen Neonectria ditissima colonizes the tree in its dormant seasons, producing an open wound. The tree responds in the growing season with corky rolls of callus and woundwood in an attempt to close the wound. However, the pathogen works to expand the wound in the following dormant season. This repetitive pattern produces the the typical target form, in this case, more visceral than vascular. The use of traditional urushi lacquers of red and black further express the paradox of something appearing soft from something known to be hard, something almost animal from something certainly plant.
