The flower I posted yesterday was Coxcomb, a form of celosia.
These pictures are from my trip to San Juan Bautista in June and show galls on oak trees. I've always thought they are rather beautiful - the round (mostly) creamy galls among the shiny green leaves of the oak.
The galls are formed by certain wasps that penetrate the bark and lay eggs. When the eggs hatch the larvae produce a chemical that creates the gall.
The larvae feed on the inside of the gall, they don't eat the tree, so there is little harm. The galls I have felt have been hollow, like a gourd.
Here is the URL for an article about the man who wrote the field guide to galls!
1 comment:
I've used galls for natural dyeing, but I forget what color they gave. I think it was dark brown.
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