Photo: E.F. Wicker
This time of year on the East Coast of North America, many Cedar trees (and other Junipers) sport bright orange balls of creepy tentacles.
There's nothing else like it!
First impression is, Christmas in April? Second impression, what the heck?!!
Now (mid- to late April) is the time for the attack of the Cedar-Apple Rust Galls.
Cedar-Apple Rust is a fungal infection that affects Juniper species in the early spring.
By forming outlandish galls on the ends of branches, the fungus produces spores. These spores float on the wind to infect any apple, crabapple or Hawthorne trees that are within a mile of the gall-laden Juniper trees.
Photo: Joseph O'Brien
No harm's done on the Junipers unless there's an abnormally heavy infection; then the tree may have some die back.
But it sure does look spectacular!
In a few more weeks, those orange tentacles or horns start dispersing spores. The wind carries these spores to nearby apple, crabapple and Hawthorne trees.
During the summer these fungus spores – to be technical, they're called teliospores – that landed on nearby apple, caabapple or Hawthorne trees begin to grow into bright orange or yellow lesions on the host's bark, leaves... and fruit.
That drives apple tree owners nuts. Why? Well, who wants to eat an apple with lesions on it? Yuk!
Photo: K.S. Yoder
So the fungus on the infected fruit and leaves matures in late summer. If you use a magnifying glass you'll see little tubes or cups sticking up out of the surface of each lesion.
Not what you'd expect a fungus to look like!
Now these cankers produce their version of spores, called aeciospores, are powder-fine. The wind carries these to the Juniper host trees, where the fungus spends the winter.
Come spring, the whole cycle starts again.
Now you know why some states made it illegal to plant any Juniper or cedar trees within a mile of an apple orchard.
And you know what those orange-jello-like tentacles mean.
No Martians. Yet.
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