An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne in a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere; it includes some 500 species, both deciduous and evergreen. Fossil oaks date back to the Middle Eocene. Molecular phylogeny shows that the genus is divided into Old World and New World clades, but many oak species hybridise freely, making the genus's history difficult to resolve.
Galls or cecidia are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or warts in animals. They can be caused by various parasites, from viruses, fungi and bacteria, to other plants, insects and mites. Plant galls are often highly organized structures so that the cause of the gall can often be determined without the actual agent being identified. This applies particularly to insect and mite plant galls. The study of plant galls is known as cecidology.
Quercus cerris, the Turkey oak or Austrian oak, is an oak native to south-eastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is the type species of Quercus sect. Cerris, a section of the genus characterised by shoot buds surrounded by soft bristles, bristle-tipped leaf lobes, and acorns that usually mature in 18 months.
Gall wasps, also traditionally calledgallflies, are hymenopterans of the family Cynipidae in the wasp superfamily Cynipoidea. Their common name comes from the galls they induce on plants for larval development. About 1,300 species of this generally very small creature are known worldwide, with about 360 species of 36 different genera in Europe and some 800 species in North America.
Andricus quercuscalicis is a gall wasp species inducing knopper galls.
Dryocosmus are a genus of gall wasps. They are cyclically parthenogenetic insects that induce galls on plants in the family Fagaceae.
Andricus kollari, also known as the marble gall wasp, is a parthenogenetic species of wasp which causes the formation of marble galls on oak trees. Synonyms for the species include Cynips kollari, Andricus quercusgemmae, A. minor, A. indigenus and A. circulans.
Andricus is a genus of oak gall wasps in the family Cynipidae.
Cassytha filiformis or love-vine is an orangish, wiry, parasitic vine in the family Lauraceae. It is found in coastal forests of warm tropical regions worldwide including the Americas, Indomalaya, Australasia, Polynesia and tropical Africa.
Adelaide Local Nature Reserve is in North West London, in the area of Chalk Farm, Primrose Hill, Belsize Park and Swiss Cottage. It is managed by a local volunteer group, the Adelaide Nature Reserve Association, which works with the council to improve the site for wildlife and local community use and enjoyment. The site is a Local Nature Reserve and Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1.
Cynipinae is a subfamily of gall wasps (Cynipidae). Many of the approximately 1,500 described species cause galls on oaks, but some induce galls on other plant species or are inquilines of the gall-inducing species. Species occur on all continents except Antarctica, with most found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. All extant cynipid species are within Cynipinae since the only other recognized subfamily is Hodiernocynipinae which is based on the fossil genus Hodiernocynips.
Cynipini is a tribe of gall wasps. These insects induce galls in plants of the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. They are known commonly as the oak gall wasps. It is the largest cynipid tribe, with about 936 to 1000 recognized species, most of which are associated with oaks. The tribe is mainly native to the Holarctic.
Amphibolips is an American genus of gall wasps in the family Cynipidae. There are about 57 described species in the genus Amphibolips with several others still undescribed.
Heteroecus is a genus of gall wasps in the family Cynipidae. There are about seven described species in the genus Heteroecus.
Disholcaspis is a genus of gall wasps in the family Cynipidae. There are more than 40 species described in the genus Disholcaspis. Some Disholcaspis species induce galls that produce honeydew, a sweet liquid that attracts yellow jackets, ants, and bees. These insects then protect the galls from parasitic wasps.
Amphibolips quercusinanis, known generally as the larger empty oak apple wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae.
Callirhytis is a genus of gall wasps in the family Cynipidae. There are more than 90 described species in Callirhytis. Wasps in this genus primarily induce wasps on oak trees in North America.
Heteroecus sanctaeclarae, also known as the mushroom gall wasp, is a species of cynipid wasp that induces galls on huckleberry oaks and canyon live oaks on the Pacific coast of North America.
