WOOL-GATHERER GALL
AS MEDICINE
Above you can see a fuzzy gall on an oak stem near the top of Big-Cross Hill. This gall
is very similar to one often seen on oak stems during the spring in eastern North American
forests. North America's gall is known as the Wool-sower Gall and is produced by a wasp of
the family Cynipidae, so I'm guessing that the same is true of our gall.
At http://www.backyardnature.net/pix/gallwool.jpg
you can see a Wool-sower Gall I photographed in northern Mississippi. More information on
galls in general is at http://www.backyardnature.net/galls.htm.
Andrés told us that people here seek out these galls when they have a baby whose
tongue and lips are covered with blisters. The gall is smeared with sugar and then daubed
over the baby's blistered mouthparts. |
