We envision a resilient world dependent on the thoughtful cultivation of plants

Garden Allies: Galls

Articles: Garden Allies: Galls

If I had not chosen to study flower-visiting insects in graduate school I almost certainly would have become a cecidologist, one who studies plant galls. Invaders such as fungi, viruses, bacteria, mites, and even mistletoe cause these abnormal and often strange-looking growths on plants, but most galls are induced by insects, our principal focus here. The word “gall” comes from the Latin galla, meaning oak apple, a conspicuously large gall caused by a tiny and rarely noticed wasp in the Cynipidae family. Oak apples are a common sight on valley oak trees throughout the West. Oaks in California’s Central Valley may also host jumping galls induced by another species of cynipid wasp. About the size of a flea, these tiny galls detach from the tree and drop to the ground by the thousands where the larva encased in each gall cause it to bounce about in the manner of Mexican jumping beans.

Spiny bud gall Illustration: Craig Latker

Hundreds of other species of cynipid wasps induce galls and, like other gall-inducing insects, are generally host specific, seeking out particular species of plants. When cynipid wasp...

READ THE WHOLE STORY


Join now to access new headline articles, archives back to 1977, and so much more.

Enjoy this article for FREE:

Voices of the West; New Science on Life in the Garden by Frederique Lavoipierre

If you are already a member, please log in using the form below.

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Social Media

Garden Futurist Podcast

Most Popular

Videos

Topics

Related Posts

Welcome, Greywater, to the Garden

Summer 2022 Oh, summer: delightful warm air, tomatoes swelling on the vine, fragrant blooms on an evening stroll. When it’s warm and rainless, how is

Powered By MemberPress WooCommerce Plus Integration

Your free newsletter starts here!

Don’t want to see this pop-up? Members, log-in here.

Why do we ask for your zip code?

We do our best to make our educational content relevant for where you garden.

Why do we ask for your zip code?

We do our best to make our educational content relevant for where you garden.

The information you provide to Pacific Horticulture is NEVER sold, shared, or rented to others.

Pacific Horticulture generally sends only two newsletters per Month.