Oak Gall

Found some oak galls on a walk in San Rafael…

It’s not a tumor!

Well, kinda… galls are abnormal growths (made of plant tissue) on oak trees. They form when wasps lay their eggs in the young stems and leaves in the Spring, and a chemical causes interference with normal plant cell growth. They were used to make ink in Medieval times. Here is some information about that.

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Madder Root