Strange Orange Growth on Evergreens

A strange orange growth appeared on several branches of my evergreen for two weeks last spring. It was about the size of a golf ball before it shriveled away. Do you know what it is?

The gelatinous orange growth is the fruiting stage of cedar–apple rust. This fungal disease spends half of its life on Junipers, often called red cedars, and the remainder on crabapples, hawthorns or quince. It does not kill either host, but can cause some tip dieback and these strange growths on the junipers. You may notice orange spots on leaves and fruit as well as a few falling leaves on nearby crabapples, hawthorns and quince. Fortunately it is more of a cosmetic problem. The plant look bad but otherwise healthy ones survive the disease. Eliminate additional problems in the future by only planting cultivars that are resistant to this disease.

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