Plant galls are remarkable objects, often beautiful and
sometimes bizarre. They are formed of plant tissue but are caused
by another organism, usually an insect or mite, and, thus, they
straddle the worlds of botany and zoology. Knowledge of galls has a
long history, since the 5th century BC. First used as herbal
medicines and later for dyeing cloth and leather and for
ink-making, their true nature remained obscure until well into the
19th century - they, and the creatures inside, were generally
regarded as objects of superstitions, arising by spontaneous
generation.
Against this background of ignorance, Malpighi's "De Gallis,"
published in 1679, is a remarkable work. He investigated gall
structure and studied galls as they grew, describing and
illustrating them so accurately that most of them can be recognised
today. Thereafter, knowledge regressed; Malpighi's understanding of
galls reached levels not attained again for 200 years. His
understanding gave the study of galls a scientific basis well ahead
of its time, and it with justification that Malpighi is recognised
as the father of cecidology.
Although most of the galls Malpighi described are on oak trees,
he also looked at galls on other plants, herbaceous species as well
as other trees. Most galls familiar to him are caused by cynipid
wasps, which he saw emerging from their galls as well as laying
eggs in buds. But he appreciated too that other creatures could
cause galls, other insects and mites, although he did not name them
specifically.
The core of this work is "De Gallis," one of the chapters of
Malpighi's major work on plants, "Anatomes Plantarum," and richly
illustrated with 67 figures in 15 plates. This was published in
1679 by the Royal Society of London, and a facsimile of the first
edition is included here. A translation of the original Latin
follows the facsimile with an interpretation interleaved on facing
pages. This allows the translation to lead directly to the
recognition of each gall that Malpighi described and enables any
difficult or obscure parts of the text to be explained. Most of the
galls are illustrated in colour, allowing direct comparison between
Malpighi's drawings and modern images.
The importance of "De Gallis" in the history of natural history
is indisputable. It is remarkable that, in the 17th century,
Malpighi's understanding of galls and how they developed is close
to modern interpretations. De Gallis has not received the
recognition it deserves because the Latin text remained
inaccessible to most people. This English translation and
interpretation of the galls familiar to Malpighi should make De
Gallis and its meticulous illustrations available to a wider
audience.
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