Fungi that decompose tree trunks can conjure up real works of art in wood. In nature, however, the decay-causing fungi not only decorate the tree but also destroy it.

Researchers at Empa, The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, are now teaching fungi how to draw. The result is upscale, spalted wood that can be processed into design furniture, or even musical instruments!

Sometimes there is true beauty to be discovered in very unusual places. Like a Phoenix from the ashes, the coveted truffle beech made from rotting wood on the forest floor. Uniquely patterned, it has been much sought after as a raw material for furniture production since antiquity......