Perhaps the strangest things that you might see each spring are the bright orange globs hanging in the eastern red cedar trees. They look a bit like orange marmalade being pushed through a garlic press. Moist to the touch and about the size of a golf ball, these ornaments adorning the cedars are actually fungi.
The life cycle of the cedar-apple rust fungus (Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae) depends on both apple and eastern red cedar hosts. It’s possible to find cedar-apple rust anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains where eastern red cedars and apples coexist.
For most of the year cedar-apple rust is hard to see. However, when spring rains moisten the hard brown kidney-shaped galls that over winter on cedar trees they develop bright orange spore horns. These are very conspicuous and make the cedar look like it’s fruiting. The spores are then blown, sometimes several miles, onto apple trees infecting young buds and leaves. Over the course of the summer the fungus matures and eventually spores are blown back to the cedar trees to overwinter as small galls.
The fungus does not permanently harm the eastern red cedar trees. However, if left untreated, cedar-apple rust will damage apple fruits to the point of making them unsellable. This is a major concern for orchard owners. Today, fungicide is used to prevent cedar-apple rust from destroying crops, but that wasn’t always the case.
In 1914, apple growers wrote the Cedar Rust Act of Virginia allowing them to destroy cedar trees on neighboring property in an effort to control the fungus. While most people enjoy eating apples, a lot of people also like eastern red cedar trees, especially if they’re on your own property. You can imagine how people reacted when they woke up to see their neighbors cutting down all their cedar trees.
This all came to a head in a classic 1928 court case where a judge determined that apple trees were more valuable than cedars, and therefore more worthy of protecting. Cedar tree owners would not be compensated for their losses, but would be allowed to keep the wood from the cut trees. Remember to thank those folks who lost all their cedars next time you bite into a delicious apple!
If you happen to be out on the next rainy day, try to find an eastern red cedar. Hopefully you’ll have a new appreciation for those bright orange galls and their complex history.
Have you seen cedar-apple rust fungus before? Tell us where and when in the comments!
We discovered the cedar apple rust spores a few days ago, wondering what they were. Now, we have a name to put with the colorful, odd growth. Thankfully there are no apple trees nearby, so all is good.
My husband took a picture of them today while he was mowing. We live close to Denton, NE. I had to google what is was.
Live in N/W Georgia. Found six of them on my evergreen tree. They are gross looking!!
We have 9 cedar trees here in Kentucky. Could this fungus cause blastomycosis in dogs? Hmmmmm
Great Falls VA. Mature cedars – first time that this has shown up. I assume it came from apple tree my neighbor planted last year just across the fence line.
Gordonsville, VA after a very rainy few days.
We have several large red cedars (40-50 ft) on our property in Hillsborough, NC, with quite a few orange flowers. Wet spring.
We saw lots of this on red cedar trees at Stillwater Marsh in Monroe County, Indiana just off Kent Road. We saw them today, April 24, 2020 about 2:00pm.
My husband and I found 3 on one of our large red cedars on our property. We removed them. After reading this article glad we did! We have three apples we rely on each year! Don’t want them compromised!
I live in Lake Ozark Missouri and have seen these orange globs on our cedar tree for years. Never thought to Google it, LOL
Glendale MO – After last night’s rain, they’re all over my two Cedar trees. We’ve been here 20 years and I’ve never seen it.
Oxford, OH 4/23/20. Saw several of them on cedar trees. Thought I had discovered the source of Coronavirus!
We saw some today is south central Kansas! Never seen them before, so of course we googled it and came across this post! Thanks for the info
I have them on my cedar trees here in Jones Oklahoma. I’ve noticed them 4 years wonder if we sprayed our infected cedars that would help keep them from coming back or would it just be a futile battle? I’m an apple lover. But want to keep my cedars for the birds and deer and privacy.
I have some in Dadeville,MO.
Saw them today On a farm in Simpsonville Ky. We have A few old apple trees Around too.
I saw two today in Dittmer, MO!
Our cedar trees in yard in Little Rock Arkansas are full of them. We live in Cedar Street!!
Found a gallery a few days ago in Bayville NJ. We had a lot of rain and now found this orange fungi.
I found my first one this afternoon in a cedar tree by my home, Cove Arkansas
I just found one for the first time hiking a field of red cedars in Upper Twp. in Southern NJ in February. At this time it looked like a walnut shaped brown golf ball with no orange at all but still very unusual looking.
This spring of 2019. Have only seen them a few times in my entire life so this year’s galls on the cedar tree were surprising. After reading this article I realize why I haven’t seen the apple-cedar rust that often. And an “a-haa” moment came to me: the neighbor next to us has let the previous owner’s apple trees “go to waste.”
Oh yeah! I’m in East Tennessee in the valley/foothills north of the Smokies.
All of our cedar trees on property are infected. I was really wanting apple trees too 🙁
Growing on my Cedars , North Plarre , Nebraska
Lots on my Cedar tree here in SWANNANOA, N.C.
They look like jellyfish hanging on my tree…
I purchased a house in July 2018, in Bedford County PA. There’s a Cedar tree in the backyard that had shown this fungi for the first time in May 2019 after a heavy rain. Strange looking stuff.
Overland Park, Kansas. First time I’ve seen them.
Looking at one right now in my front yard…its BEAUTIFUL….glad to not have an Apple orchard near me…I love my Cedar Tree. It is Beautiful year around.
I have seen the fungi for the first time this year on an Eastern Red Cedar on our property here at Warsaw Missouri. We also have apple trees should we be concerned for our apples?
West plains Missouri found on our back yard cedars
Old cedar tree in Lynchburg, VA. loaded with rust fungus. I have a healthy crabapple in proximity but no apple trees anywhere near.
Glad to know what the orange balls are!
My daughter and I found a bunch in Spring City Tennessee today April 9 2019 out walking on a dead end road. Cool to say the least
My daughter and I found a bunch out walking today April 9th in Spring City Tennessee on a dead end road. Got pictures
Just noticed it on my 19 year old cedar in my back yard.it kind of ugly. I live in a subdivision . Could the fungus be carried by animals/birds to the tree?
We have 40 cedars around 35 years old on our property. We had a lot of rain in the summer. Our trees had lots of the orange “flowers in them. How can we get rid of the fungus?
My cedars are covered with that fungus how did you get rid of it
We have one here in Montrose , MI.
Always wondered what it was , now we know .
There is an Apple Orchard about a mile away , should we cut the Eastern Red Ceder down as not to infect the Apple Trees there ?
I have a few on a small bush in the yard. Do I get rid of them? I’m in Southbury, CT
We have the cedar/juniper trees everywhere around our area, Somerset, WI. I assume they’re junipers. Many of them have the little blue berries on them at times
Just started seeing these blobs
here. We’ve had a lot of rain lately.
That must explain why some years my 3 apple trees have terrible looking apples.
Does anyone know if I can spray the apple trees to limit the damage to the apples?
I live way upstate n.y 30 min. South of Canadian border and I’ve got them in a tree in my yard. We are applying country here.
They showed up on my cedar tree in Wisconsin the morning after a heavy rain. First time i’ve seen them in 9 years of living in this house.
My husband spotted just tonight. Lived here near Hope, Indiana with these old cedars for 17 years. Never seen before.
Discovered them May 16, 2018
near Fountaintown, IN.
Haven’t seen this in more than 40 years. The Cedar may be 100 or more years old.
I just found several of these orange, octopus-looking “blobs” hanging on my cedar trees, here in mid-state Illinois. One tree has them all over, well-spaced, like Christmas tree bulbs; the other two trees have a few each. I had no idea what they were until I found the photos of them here on this site. Thank you for letting me know what they are! Thankfully, I don’t live in apple country but am surrounded instead by soybeans, corn, pumpkins, and melons.
Just found one for the first time here in Crawford, NE
Just saw the galls yesterday and planned to look up what they were, and today they are these undersea orange gooey things! How delightfully strange!
I also have apple trees. I wonder what if anything I can/should do.
Sydenham, On
Noticed a red cedar with the fungi flowers at Marion Reservoir, Marion, Ks
We have had rain.
Just appeared in our bank of cedars after a good rain last night-Lawrence, KS
We have it in the cedars around our place – 5 or 6 cedars. Tho it might be pretty it’s not good because the fungus affects our fruit trees! We are located at Rich Hill, MO
Seeing today on most of the cedars on our property in Virginia. We’ve had a ton of rain here so maybe that’s why we’re seeing so many. They look like something from the ocean!
I forgot to post where…lol Kingston, Ont
Ì have a tree in my front yard & one in my backyard that’s full of it. I didn’t know what it was I always thought that it was kinda pretty.
This is my second spring in southeast Kansas and this is the first time I have seen this fungus. It is on the cedars in my yard and across the street. I am in Coyville, Kansas.
Spotted yesterday, 5/14/2018 in Hurleyville, New York.
Just seeing for first time ever in the 50+ years my family owning our property. Kinda gross looking! We are in Brick, NJ. I wonder what is causing the sudden surgence of the fungus?