What Are the Orange Stringy Pods on a Cedar Tree?

Cedar Apple Rust

• Cedar apple rust is brought on by the pathogen Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae. This fungus afflicts cedar trees (genus Juniper) in addition to apple and crabapple specimens (genus Malus). In order to thrive, the fungus must move from one type of host to another, meaning that cedar and apple trees must be in close proximity to each other--typically no more than several hundred feet apart.

Galls

• The orange pods are known as galls--structures that grow on the tree as a result of an infection--and secrete an orange, gelatinous substance. These galls typically grow extensively during wet spring weather, then begin to die as the rainy season subsides. Because the galls are a living part of the tree, their death also affects the twigs the galls are attached to; each of these twigs is likely to die from the location of the gall to the end of the twig.

Symptoms

• Before the galls form, symptoms first appear as small yellow spots on the leaves of the infected tree. As they age, these spots take on an orange color with a red border, then develop tiny black spots in the center of the infected area. The underside of the leaf begins to show the formation of a cuplike structure with tubes attached. These tubes then emit spores that infect nearby plants. The galls wait until the following spring to form.

Management

• Even after it dies, the orange gall is likely to remain attached to the cedar tree for a year or more. The cycle of cedar apple rust requires 24 months to complete. Aside from minimal twig dieback, however, the gall does little harm to the tree. The orange pods can simply be removed by hand; this should be accomplished before wet spring weather encourages the spread of the infection to other plants.