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Cedar-apple Rust Gall

Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae

Description:

This fungus has the fancy name, Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae, which means "naked spore-bearer of the eastern juniper tree." It's a heteroecious rust, which means that it requires two species of plants to complete its life cycle. Those two species of plants are: the eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginianus) and apple trees (Malus sylvestris). It's also an obligate pathogen, so it can't live without those hosts. It has four different stages, the most impressive of which is the orange teliospore stage because this is when the gall sprouts gelatinous, orange horns that look like tentacles. Pretty impressive. To further add to its coolness, each gelatinous spore horn is actually composed of hundreds of two-celled teliospores.

Habitat:

Growing on an eastern red cedar tree on the side of a dirt road in a rural area.

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8 Comments

Christine Y.
Christine Y. 5 years ago

Thanks for your comment DrNamgyalT.Sherpa :)

DrNamgyalT.Sherpa
DrNamgyalT.Sherpa 5 years ago

Congrats Christine for the SOTD!

Christine Y.
Christine Y. 5 years ago

Thanks so much for SOTD! Thanks for all of the comments too :). I love finding this fungus as it looks so different in each stage. I've added an extra photo to show what the inside looks like - I expected it to hollow or "gross", but the inside had solid, white flesh and looked like an apple.

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 5 years ago

That is a truly amazing story. Congrats!

Leuba Ridgway
Leuba Ridgway 5 years ago

Wow, Wow and Wow ! What a fungus. Thanks for the interesting information as well Christine and congratulations !! Well deserved SOTD.

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 5 years ago

Congratulations Christine, you Cedar-apple Rust Gall is our Spotting of the Day:

When you start examining the natural world you're never far from the intriguing and the mysterious! Just take a look at our Spotting of the Day, the strange Cedar-apple Rust Gall. Galls are abnormal growths that can be found on the leaves, twigs, roots, or flowers of many plants. Galls can be caused by an astonishing variety of organisms including insects, mites, bacteria, viruses, and fungi. More than half of all plant families can be affected by galls, which may take the shape of balls, lumps, or warts characteristic of the causal organism. Many rust fungi induce gall formation. Project Noah member Christine Young writes: "This fungus has the fancy name, Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae, which means "naked spore-bearer of the eastern juniper tree." It's a heteroecious rust, which means that it requires two species of plants to complete its life cycle. Those two species of plants are: the eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginianus) and apple trees (Malus sylvestris). It's also an obligate pathogen, so it can't live without those hosts. It has four different stages, the most impressive of which is the orange teliospore stage because this is when the gall sprouts gelatinous, orange horns that look like tentacles. Pretty impressive. To further add to its coolness, each gelatinous spore horn is actually composed of hundreds of two-celled teliospores".

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SukanyaDatta
SukanyaDatta 5 years ago

Looks straight out of Star-Trek!

Sergio Monteiro
Sergio Monteiro 5 years ago

Amazing spotting, Christine. I had no idea that this thing existed. Thanks for sharing and teaching.

Christine Y.
Spotted by
Christine Y.

Woodbury, Connecticut, United States

Spotted on May 8, 2018
Submitted on May 12, 2018

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