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what's that on my maple leaves?

15 years ago

I recently noticed that the leaves on my maple trees-from how I can best describe this-have tons of tiny "inch worm" like things hanging off of them, or, these things almost look like hanging little spikes. Does anyone know what these are, if it is detrimental to the tree, etc.?

Comments (2)

kaitain4
15 years ago
Could you post a picture?
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
15 years ago
They're galls - generally a morphological reaction to an insect infestation (the tree generates tissue, often deformed, in reaction to the insects). Other than looking pretty unsightly and creating the possibility of some leaf drop, they do not cause any permanent damage to the tree. There are various remedies you can use but timing will be important and I wouldn't bother unless the problem was recurring and pretty severe.

Here is a link that might be useful: maple galls
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