Chinese Gallnuts

Chinese gall, also referred to as Chinese gallnuts (or nutgalls), is a plant excretion produced when irritants are released by the larvae of gall insects, such as those of the Cynipidae family, the gall wasps. A major commercial source of medicinal gallnuts is oak trees, which yield the Chinese herb moshizi, but a similar material is found on Chinese sumac (Rhus species), produced by the activities of a type of aphid; these galls are called wubeizi by Chinese herbalists. The plant secretes the liquid gall, comprised mainly of tannins, that hardens to become the "nut." Gallnuts are a native product of China and Southeast Asia, but are also produced in small amounts in Turkey, India, Japan, and Korea. The annual yield of gallnuts in China is about 95% of the total world yield.