Please identify this blurry picture of a desert plant.

September 7, 2014 11:09 AM

Taken in Joshua Tree National Park in October. The seed pod is about 3/4" in diameter.
posted by Specklet to Science & Nature (10 answers total)

The spherical shape, strange opening, and location of the pods along the stems make me wonder if they might actually be insect galls. I'm not up on my desert plants so it's tough to say what the plant is without leaves or stems, but that would be pretty strange placement and structure for seed pods.
posted by dialetheia at 12:06 PM on September 7, 2014

I don't know a lot about US trees, but came here to say that looks like an insect gall to me too.
posted by wwax at 12:33 PM on September 7, 2014

Response by poster: I can see how they look like galls in this shot, but they were definitely seed pods. Sorry I don't have more/better pics.
posted by Specklet at 12:33 PM on September 7, 2014

i was going to say galls, as well, but if they're definitely seed pods, they sort of remind me of eucalypt seed pods. the problem is that i don't think there are any eucalypts in joshua tree. are there?
posted by miss patrish at 12:39 PM on September 7, 2014

Do you remember what part of the park it was at? Joshua Tree NP is in both the Mojave (northern part of the park) and the Sonoran (southern part of the park) Deserts, so the plants can differ.
posted by topophilia at 1:55 PM on September 7, 2014

Response by poster: It was the northern part of the park...
posted by Specklet at 2:04 PM on September 7, 2014

I'm wondering if it could be some sort of wasp gall on, perhaps, a live oak? (These are the oak species in Joshua Tree NP's plant inventory, among them the canyon live oak.) In form, and the way it attaches, it seems similar to this. This live oak gall has a similar texture.
posted by Tufa at 2:30 PM on September 7, 2014

Response by poster: It wasn't a live oak (it was a small, scrubby bush) but maybe I'm totally wrong and it *is* some sort of fuzzy gall. That would explain the hole...
posted by Specklet at 3:14 PM on September 7, 2014

Best answer: It is desert almond - Prunus fasciculata. It is easy to identify because of the gray branches and the angle of the branching. I can't tell from the picture if it is an almond or a gall.
posted by a22lamia at 5:34 PM on September 7, 2014

Response by poster: Yes! Thank you!
posted by Specklet at 6:49 PM on September 7, 2014