Mossy Rose Gall

Another wild and windy day, but quite bright in the morning. Went out for a couple of hours walk and found this curious structure on one of the dog rose bushes in the hedgerow. In the background you can see the bright red hips on the rest of the plant.

It would appear to be a Mossy Rose Gall (it has a couple of other names too). It is caused by a gall wasp which lays eggs in the buds and as the larvae develop they cause the plant to create these giant ‘pin cushions’. I thought they looked rather nice in the bright sunlight.