Galls: Parasitic Plant Tumors
If you have ever found a weird lump or growth on a plant, chances are good that it's a gall. Leaf galls are the most commonly seen. You can find these strange lumps on tree leaves of almost any species, all throughout the summer months. They are easiest to spot late in the season, when they are largest.
Leaf galls can frequently be spotted on oak trees. These galls are caused by a species of parasitic wasp, known (logically enough) as the gall wasp or gallfly. In the center of the gall, were you to cut it open carefully, you would find the larvae of one of these wasps.
The gall wasp injects its egg into the flesh of the leaf. As the larvae hatches and grows, the gall grows around it, like a sort of leaf tumor. The mechanism by which this gall grows is unknown. The larvae grows fat and healthy, eating the gall flesh of the leaf.
Leaf galls can frequently be spotted on oak trees. These galls are caused by a species of parasitic wasp, known (logically enough) as the gall wasp or gallfly. In the center of the gall, were you to cut it open carefully, you would find the larvae of one of these wasps.
The gall wasp injects its egg into the flesh of the leaf. As the larvae hatches and grows, the gall grows around it, like a sort of leaf tumor. The mechanism by which this gall grows is unknown. The larvae grows fat and healthy, eating the gall flesh of the leaf.
