General
Zachary Taylor
THE ZACHARY TAYLOR OAK
of Rockport, Texas Corner of South Pearl & Bay Street - On August 1st, 1845, General Zachary
Taylor and his men camped under this Live Oak Tree. General Taylor would
go on to be our 12th President of the United States.
LORE: There are two types of
‘Mealy Oak Galls’. In the two pictures on the left, the top Galls are the
ones that the much larger, asexual
female, lay from which the smaller,
male and female Gall Wasps emerge.
The Galls on the botom are produced
by a bio-chemical, secreted by the
Wasp’s Larvae that persuades the
Live Oak Tree to grow them. The
asexual Wasp Larvae will eat much
of the interior before emerging as an
adult from the larger Gall.
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LORE: Old Mealy Oak
Galls make nice Fortresses for Predator Insects that help protect
the Live Oak.
LORE: A ‘Grove’ of
Live Oaks is called a
‘Mott’.
LEGEND:
There’s a
legend that the Native
American Indians conducted cannabalistic rituals
under the Big Tree in Lamar.