In a friend's yard, I found these "hairy balls" growing on their roses. Obviously, they are not rose hips - as rose hips were evident - so curiosity got the better of me. Let me post a series of photos - and then maybe someone can tell us what this is!
The first thing I did was pop the capsule open to see what was in there ......seeds perhaps .......or perhaps, something else!
Here is a closeup of the compartment resident - one per compartment!
Finally - a closeup of the individual hairy strands of the capsule - definitely an outgrowth from the rose. It reminds me of the manner in which wasps form oak galls on some of our trees. So - what say you? A rose gall??
How bizarre! I have no idea what that could be.
Yes - rose gall. A parasite!! These mossy looking galls form when the rose gall-wasp lays its eggs in the leaf buds in spring. The larva of the wasp grows in the protection of its own individual cell in the gall and pupates there over the winter, emerging as an adult in the following spring. I've seen them in my garden but not on the roses. Good photography!!
Thanks, Louisa, and I will post here a link that I found just a few minutes ago -
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/6953_04.html
