oak apple

n.
An insect gall on oak trees, caused by certain wasp larvae.

An oak-apple is a spongy, brightly colored gall found on the leaf bud of oak trees; it is globular in shape. In folklore, oak-apples could be used in divination. To discover whether a child was bewitched, three oak-apples were dropped into a basin of water under the child's cradle, at the same time preserving the strictest silence. If the oak-apples floated, the child was not fascinated, but if they sank, the child was believed to be bewitched.

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The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: oak gall caused by larvae of a cynipid wasp

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