Cedar tree has alien appendages - fruit?

[spidey07]

I've never seen my cedar trees do this and within the last day or two these things have exploded all over 4 trees. It looks like some alien lifeform with orage fleshy worm like appendages coming out of a golfball sized core.

Are these the true seeds? Because normally there are just small silver/blue berries on them.

http://www.sciencemusings.com/.../CedarApple-794550.jpg

More googling shows it is actually a very long lived complex fungus that needs different species of trees to mature. Common name Cedar Apple Rust. Freaky.

 

[ForumMaster]

:shocked:

that looks like some parasite or something. never seen anything like it. weird. i'd consider cutting the branch.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: ForumMaster
:shocked:

that looks like some parasite or something. never seen anything like it. weird. i'd consider cutting the branch.

Heh, all the cedar trees are covered in them. It looks freaky. Apparently the fungus has a two year cycle - one year on apple trees, next year on cedar or other junipers, repeating with spores on apple trees. Check OP for common name.

Time to call an arborist, maybe they can be treated. I can't tell if it's harmful or just a nuisance.

 

[nonameo]

It looks ugly as sin.

 

[91TTZ]

Google is your friend.

 

[Eli]

That's a juniper, not a cedar. True cedars have needles, and false cedars have flat scales similar to a juniper.

Anyway, that's some crazy stuff. I've never seen anything like that around here.

 

[legoman666]

Your tree has cancer, I give it a week to live.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ


Google is your friend.

Very interesting.

A crucial factor relative to control on these cedar rusts, however, is that there is no repeating spore cycle on the rosaceous hosts. In other words, spores produced on hawthorn will not reinfect hawthorns or other rosaceous plants-they will only reinfect junipers later in the season. Spores produced on juniper will not reinfect junipers-they will only infect the rosaceous host. The alternating host plant is necessary for survival of the fungus.

Spores produced on the juniper host are blown during moist weather to the rosaceous hosts in mid-spring at a time when new growth has emerged. The fungus then causes leaf spots on upper leaf surfaces and while growing in the leaf two strains of the fungus mate and emerge as a new spore form on the lower leaf surface. These spores are then blown back to junipers in mid summer to fall, develop galled areas on the junipers over a one and a half year period and the cycle begins again.

What a crazy life cycle. Evolution FTW!

 

[pontifex]

taste it.

 

[slayer202]

holy shit that thing is FREAKY

 

[RU482]

I believe it's called cedar rust

EDIT - wiki link

 

[Throckmorton]

Whoa, a fungus that looks like an alien. Don't pull them off, they look sweet!!

 

[rival]

Looks like it would jump off the branch and onto your face, Halflife style

 

[Jester22]

I never would have imagined anything like that. Especially not a fungus; though admittedly I don't know much about them. It's pretty cool!

But itt seems almost "fake", like it's made of plastic. Almost looks like a $5 toy you can just grab at the check out lane at Toys R Us. =P

 

[ShadowOfMyself]

Dude wtf, thats creepy as hell, Id stay away from it

The invasion has begun

 

[Skunkwourk]

Theres actually been a lawsuit about this cedar rust before.

Miller v. Schoene

"the state entomologist, ordered the plaintiffs in error to cut down a large number of ornamental red cedar trees growing on their property, as a means of preventing the communication of a rust or plant disease with which they were infected to the apple orchards in the vicinity."

Regardless its a creepy looking fungus.

Case for all you law students out there.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: m0mentary
Theres actually been a lawsuit about this cedar rust before.

Miller v. Schoene

"the state entomologist, ordered the plaintiffs in error to cut down a large number of ornamental red cedar trees growing on their property, as a means of preventing the communication of a rust or plant disease with which they were infected to the apple orchards in the vicinity."

Regardless its a creepy looking fungus.

Case for all you law students out there.

That's weak. The defense should have been "well if not for your apple trees the fungus can't reproduce. YOU cut down your apple trees as that's where it starts."

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: Jester22
I never would have imagined anything like that. Especially not a fungus; though admittedly I don't know much about them. It's pretty cool!

But itt seems almost "fake", like it's made of plastic. Almost looks like a $5 toy you can just grab at the check out lane at Toys R Us. =P

Harvest them and sell for tree fiddy

 

[imported_Devine]

wtf . .. .. .. :Q

 

[potato28]

Get the shotgun, we have been invaded.

 

[CraKaJaX]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: ForumMaster
:shocked:

that looks like some parasite or something. never seen anything like it. weird. i'd consider cutting the branch.

Heh, all the cedar trees are covered in them. It looks freaky. Apparently the fungus has a two year cycle - one year on apple trees, next year on cedar or other junipers, repeating with spores on apple trees. Check OP for common name.

Time to call an arborist, maybe they can be treated. I can't tell if it's harmful or just a nuisance.

Take a picture with all included.

 

[Cattlegod]

that thing is freaky as hell.

i'd like to see some pictures of it chopped up. brave enough to take it down and slice it open?

 

[seemingly random]

The hoa is going to start complaining next.

 

[sandmanwake]

See how they taste.

 

[SZLiao214]

Those things are creepy as hell!