249 QUERCUS INFECTORIA 



from wliicli it is chiefly distinguished by its smaller size, less 

 indented leaves and longer acorn, with a rather differently-shaped 

 cup. The leaves vary from small, subspinous, and oval to almost 

 entire and rounded ; the amount of hair on the under surface 

 is also very variable. It is in cultivation at Kew with other 

 species. 



The flowers appear in May and the fruit is ripe in September, 

 the foliage is persistent till the spring, or sometimes even 

 longer. 



There seems no doubt that the bulk of the best Aleppo or 

 Turkey galls are the production of this kind of oak, but other 

 varieties of Q. lusitanica as well as allied species also afford them. 



Webb, Iter Hispan., p. 11 ; A. DC., in DC. Prod., xvi, 2, p. 17 ; 

 Willk. & Lange, Fl. Hisp. ; Lindl., PL Med., p. 291 ; Fliick. and 

 Hanb., Pharmacogr., p. 536. 



% 



Official Part and Name. GALLA ; excrescences on Quercus 

 infectoria, Olivier, caused by the punctures and deposited ova of 

 Diplolepis Gallse tinctoriaa, Latr. (B. P.). Excrescences caused 

 by the punctures and deposited ova of Diplolepis Gallge tinctoriae 

 (I. P.) . GALLA ; a morbid excrescence on Quercus infectoria 

 (U. S. P.). 



Production. Galls are morbid excrescences or tumours, formed 

 of hypertrophied vegetable tissues, the result of their puncture 

 by the horny ovipositors of female Hymenopterous insects and the 

 deposit in them of an egg or eggs. In the present case the insect 

 is the Gynips Gallce-tinctorite, Olivier (beautifully figured by C. 

 Curtis in Steph. and Church., t. 152), the female of which 

 deposits her eggs in the young leaf -buds ; these latter then 

 undergo great enlargement, and ultimately form the galls. On a 

 section of one of these galls there is found a soft somewhat 

 spongy tissue in which are several scattered vascular bundles; 

 the exact centre being occupied by the ovum which is surrounded 

 by very juicy tissue the cells of which contain starch. It is not 

 until the gall has attained its full development that the egg is 

 hatched and the larva or grub commences to feed on the juices of 

 the central tissue ; the cavity of the gall is never more than just 



