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Project Noah Nature School
Balloon like ball found hiking to Pompeii Mountain in George Washington National forest Va
Spotted on May 26, 2013
Submitted on Aug 7, 2013
2 Comments
That is a gall. A gall is a structure an insect (usually a wasp) induces a plant to grow to protect the insect inside. That insect then grows happily in a nice safe place.
That is not to say that galls are induced exclusively by insects. They may form from viral, bacterial of perhaps fungal infections as well.
Whoa, that's pretty cool! Is it light and hollow feeling?