Strange growth / flower on wild rose

[Long Stride]

Was out with the dogs yesterday and came across 2 young wild / climbing roses with strange fluffy ball like growths on them.

The fluffy balls are wrapped entirely around the stems.





They appear to be near the top of the shoots on both plants.

I have never seen this before.

Anyone else seen it?

 

[Adi]

That is a rose gall caused by Agrobacterium

 

[Laurence Dell]

They are almost certainly Robins Pincushion Galls also known as the Bedegaur gall.
I have just copied this from this website http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk/

The 'causer' in this case is a gall wasp (Diplolepis rosae) which lays its eggs in either the leaves or stem of the dog rose. One gall may contain several grubs, each in an individual chamber. Subsequently, other insects may invade the gall in order to parasitise the gall wasp grubs. The gall grubs will overwinter inside the 'apparently' dead gall, to emerge next Spring.

If you google it you'll get loads of info

 

[Long Stride]

Thanks guys :You_Rock_

Have seen galls on oak trees before.

Very interesting how scientists still do not know how the wasps ( cynipid gall wasps ) manage to induce the host plant to change its development and grow a gall.