Stark Appendage

I was kind of confused as to where exactly I should put this. Technically it's not a plant but a tumorous growth on an oak.

I saw it while I was at the brand new sculpture park in Seattle a few weekends ago and I took it more out of ecological interest than anything else, but I kind of life the picture itself.

This growth is generally caused by a certain kind of wasp which injects a chemical into the cambrium of a tree. This chemical incites the growth of a tumor into which the wasp then lays her eggs. When the eggs hatch they devour the 'meat' of the tree, burst out of the tumor and repeat the process.

I'm a bit skeptical of whether or not these are wasp induced growths because Seattle really isn't the climate to encourage a population of wasps.

But, oh well, at least it looks cool.