Runhills

By Runhills

Strange Growth

I spotted this strange but interesting growth on a bramble, not a clue what it is so if anyone can help :)

Big blip day tomorrow and if I'm honest I am a bit nervous about it, I will be blipping my 365th blip. I have no plans, I will be stuck in the office most of the day and then I have to dash home and get ready to meet up with some friends to travel to Bispham Green near Parbold for the 4th in the summer series of Harrock Hill races.

I am sure that Dugswell2 will be along soon to tell me that I have to blip 366 this year and that is probably correct so I will just have to celebrate twice :)

***Update**** Looks like it could be a rose stem not a bramble
The Rose bedeguar gall, Robin's pincushion gall, or Moss gall develops as " a chemically induced distortion of an unopened leaf axillary or terminal buds" occurring most commonly on Field Rose (Rosa arvensis) or Dog rose (Rosa canina) shrubs. This fascinating distortion is caused by the parthenogenetic hymenopteran gall wasp (Diplolepis rosae (Linnaeus, 1758))

To find a wasp you would have to look around the new green leaf buds in late May as it prepares to lay its eggs. Then the female diplolepis lay up to sixty eggs within each leaf bud using her ovipositor. The asexual wasps emerge in the spring; less than one percent are males.

The bedeguar gall is surrounded by a dense mass of sticky branched filaments, giving the appearance of a ball of moss. Its filaments start off green, gradually becoming pink that turns crimson and ages to a reddish brown. They are at their most attractive from about now to September, as from then they begin to lose their hairs, although they remain in place until the new gall wasps emerge in the spring. A large specimen can achieve up to 10 cm in width.

Etymology

The term 'Bedeguar, Bedegar or Bedequar' comes from a French word, bédegar, but that originated from the Persian, b?d-?war, meaning 'wind-brought.'

The Robin in 'Robin's pincushion' refers to the woodland sprite of English folklore, Robin Goodfellow, otherwise known as Will o' the wisp and Puck.

Folklore & traditional medicinal uses

Folklore tells us that if a Robin's Pincushion is placed under one's pillow it aids sleep and the gall was therefore known as the 'Sleep Apple'.

The galls have apparently been used in the treatment of whooping cough and carried as an amulet to ward off toothache.

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