Park rangers in Texas have found flowers that look like they could have come from a Dr. Seuss book.
When the Atlanta State Park near Texarkana in North Texas posted Facebook photos of the fluffy pink flowers Tuesday, comparisons to the Truffula trees from Dr. Seuss' “The Lorax” began pouring in.
According to the post, the phenomena aren’t even really flowers, but are called “wool sower gall,” and they grow when wool sower wasps lay eggs in a white oak, the rangers posted.
When the eggs hatch in springtime, chemicals are released that stimulate the plant to grow the fluffy ball, which gives the tiny wasp grubs food and protection. The photos show the puffy pink plant growing out of dead leaves and branches, perched on the end of a thin twig.
The post describing Ranger Steve’s find has received more than 1,100 likes and has been shared almost 2,000 times since Tuesday.
Because of all the interest in the gall, the park decided to host a hike Friday so locals can see the natural phenomenon and learn more about them, according to USA Today.
According to a ecologist Dr. Katie Burke, wool sower galls allow the wasps to have a parasitic relationship to the oak tree, but the galls don’t overtake or damage the tree. Wool sower galls have also been spotted in North Carolina, quite a distance from Texas.
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