Gallbush

Water stood in the ditch the color of tea; it made a dark, mysterious mirror for the gallbush and towering cane.

Byrd is mistaken in identifying the gallbush as a buckthorn; as noted above, it is actually a North American species of holly (Ilex cariacea).

It conjured up a vista of arid wastes, of thorn and gallbush, of sharp-toothed prowling fands, of blood-seeking sting-whiffles that dropped noiseless from the sky to paralyze and feed upon their victims.