With leaves still absent from many trees, it is not hard to see evidence of galls caused by insects, such as the oak apple gall, or by fungi, such as the knobby black protrusions on black cherry trees referred to as black knot. A gall is an abnormal outgrowth of plant tissue, which can be caused by all sorts of parasites, from fungi and bacteria to insects and mites. Another fairly common gall in this area is one called cedar-apple…
Despite its name, the eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is actually a species of juniper rather than cedar. Eastern red cedars have two types of leaves depending on the age of the tree and/or the branch. Young shoots and seedlings have predominantly prickly leaves, while mature trees and branches have tightly overlapping scale-like leaves. In fertile soil, eastern red cedars can grow up to 60 feet tall, in a regular conical shape. In sandy soil common to coastal Cape Cod,…