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Wildlife Spotting

Photo by Jerrie Miller
Published on Project Noah
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66.1052, -99.8717

Field Notes

Description:

This giant growth is about 6 feet in diameter. It is attached to a branch of a Douglas-fir and is hollow with several nests inside. The needles are different from the host plant. Any ideas?

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (2)
Machi
I agree with mauna except for a clarification, witches' broom is not a separate plant. It is a deformity often caused by disease. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch%27s_broom
mauna Kunzah
Hi Jerrie! Cool. This is a witches' broom, a parasitic plant. I don't know which type is on your douglas-fir, but one species (among many other possibilities) is Arceuthobium douglasii, the douglas-fir dwarf mistletoe (https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-the-arizona-nevada-academy-of-science/volume-43/issue-1/036.043.0106/Biomass-of-Witches-Brooms-Caused-by-Douglas-Fir-Dwarf-Mistletoe/10.2181/036.043.0106.short).
Photographed
PublishedApril 12, 2019

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