Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!tdatirv!sarima
From: sarima@tdatirv.UUCP (Stanley Friesen)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Cancer in plants?
Message-ID: <210@tdatirv.UUCP>
Date: 24 Apr 91 19:47:15 GMT
References: <3442@beguine.UUCP>
Reply-To: sarima@tdatirv.UUCP (Stanley Friesen)
Organization: Teradata Corp., Irvine
Lines: 23

In article <3442@beguine.UUCP> rhunt@med.unc.edu (Rick Hunt) writes:
>Several days ago on the way to work I saw a strange growth on a tree.  It
>had what looked like dozens of twigs growing from one spot.  At first I
>thought it was a bird's nest, but it started sprouting leaves with the
>arrival of spring.  Then I started to wonder if it would be a kind of cancer.
>So now it is stupid question time:  Do plants get cancer?  If they do,
>what does it look like?

As others have pointed out plants do get 'cancer', but I doubt this is
what you are seeing.

I have seen something very like what you describe, on the UC Berkeley campus.
If the tree in question was *planted* as part of landscaping work, the
strange growth pattern may well be deliberate!  By vigorously pruning all
larger branches above a certain point on a tree it can be induced to form
just such a burl with numerous small twigs growing out of it - sort of an
elevated bush.  Berkeley has entire groves of Western Sycamore pruned in
this way - it makes for an odd sort of high hedge.

Now if the tree you saw was 'wild' I am probably off base.
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uunet!tdatirv!sarima				(Stanley Friesen)