Gall

The creosote bush is an interesting desert plant. Lots of things going on - even down to the roots, which are so well adapted to extracting moisture from the soil that in drier places nothing else is capable of growing nearby. A tiny wasp lays eggs in a small branch and the plant grows a gall to support the larvae before they emerge.

The leaves of the gall are thin and tightly arranged compared to the surrounding leaves.

After the wasps emerge, the gall dies.