Field Guide to Plant Galls of California and Other Western States (California Natural History Guides)

Oak apples, honeydew and ambrosia galls, witches’ brooms, and fasciationsall are types of plant galls, a commonly observed, yet little-understood botanical phenomenon. Often beautiful and bizarre, galls are growths of various shapes, sizes, and colors produced by host plants in response to invading organisms. This guide, a trove of natural history lore, explores this hidden realm, taking a fascinating look at the world of plant galls, the organisms that initiate them, their host plants, and their intricate behaviors. Focusing on native trees and shrubs, but also discussing several galls that occur on herbaceous and ornamental plants, it illuminates the complex interrelationship between botany and entomology and magnifies our awareness of plant communities in the West. * Identifies more than 300 species of galls95 on oaks, 22 on members of the rose family, 60 desert species, and 35 species that are new to science * Describes plant galls from coastal dunes, the high Sierra, the Great Basin, forests throughout the western states, and the Mojave and Sonoran deserts * Includes information on host selection, growth and development, predator and parasite defense, and animal and human uses of galls

Science & Math

Russo, Ronald A.

Biological Sciences

University of California Press

A photographic guide to 536 species of plant galls found west of the Rockies Beautiful and bizarre, plant galls are growths of various shapes, sizes, and colors produced in response to invading organisms. Describing 536 species of galls and their causative agents, Plant Galls of the Western United States explores this unique realm with stunning photos and fascinating information about the life cycles of the organisms involved. Often species-specific, plant galls can be shaped like stars, baskets, clubs, wigs, bowls, and cups, with colors and combinations that stagger the imagination. This richly illustrated field guide examines how galls develop, and their uses, seasonal appearance and growth rate, predators, and defense mechanisms. The "architects" of galls--bacteria, fungi, mites, moths, beetles, flies, midges, and wasps--are explored in depth, and descriptions are paired with illustrations of these gall-inducing organisms and their typical galls. Gall accounts are divided into those that occur on trees, shrubs, and miscellaneous hosts, including native and ornamental plants. The guide contains a useful glossary and a bibliography. <ul> <li>Features 536 gall species--including 120 new to science and 232 that have never appeared in a field guide before</li> <li>Examines for the first time more than 90 species from southwestern oak trees</li> <li>Contains more than 150 species from most of the deserts of the western states</li> </ul>

Plant Galls of the Western United States (Princeton Field Guides)

Reference

Princeton University Press

Plant galls of the California region

Boxwood Press

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