Flowers: Blooms in the spring. Flowers small and inconspicuous.
Seeds: Acorn to about 1-1/4 inch.
Habitat: Edge of washes, canyons; shady, north-facing slopes.
Elevation: About 600 to 8,500 feet.
Distribution: California to Oregon, east to Arizona, and south into Baja California.
Comments: Gets a hard, roundish growth on the twigs called "galls." These are caused by insects. A female gall midge lays eggs on or in the twig, and the young larvae produce chemicals (hormones) that cause the cancer-like growth. The larvae eat the material produced inside the gall, then develop and emerge to repeat their cycle of life. |