Dear Dr. Hill:
I found this on my home property in Greenville County, SC, near Paris Mtn State Park, in a natural wooded area with mixed hardwoods and pine. The little ‘wormy’ things growing out of the leaves are about 1/2″, some a little longer. The plant is about 6 feet tall, and it could be a young small tree, but does appear to be more shrubby in appearance. I hope you can help me with this. Thank you.
Hi Cecelia,
this actually is a young tree, Prunus serotina, wild black cherry, and the leaves have insect galls on them caused by a tiny mite. This is very common on this plant. Here is a site that shows more.
https://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=2721093
Sincerely,
Steven Hill, Ph.D., Botanist, SCNPS