ID this seed pod?

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xtremetrees

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Im sorry no full structure photos, all I got is the fruit and leaves. Bark looks like a Cedar tree.
This looks like a gall (with Nematodes) I dont think so. This may be fireretardant seed pod. THe tiny hairs turn orange color when the atmosphere renders moisture. The hairs get soft and pliable. The fruit never falls from the tree or rarely. Some almost as bigg as a baseball. They say this tree is native to you West coastererneres.:) Looks like a cyprus esp with the blue fruit? What is this?
Heres the photos.
 

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Excellent, whats the tree bark in the background!
Heres the leaves!
 
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I did that Nick and looked for nematoads like in Oak galls. I didnt see any.Thanks all!
I gives me a remarkable feeling to know that I can come home and upload tree picks and share a little bit bout what I dont know.
 

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Galls are fascinating.
It is most usually caused by an insect.
The main gist is that they excrete saliva (hormones ???) into the cambium that genetically mutates the cell structure of a tree to meet the needs of eggs / pupa : to meet the needs of nesting & or feeding young.
Pretty cool.
Cooley Spruce gall always stumps my customers.
"It looks just like a pine cone ?" , they ask.
Uh, yeah ?!? Nature is ingeniuos.
 
I thought rust formed around branches.

that looks like a gall to me.

Usually from a Cynipid wasp. They sting the bark while laying the eggs. The venom causes the tree to mutate in that area.
 
Could be right Gerry:

Common Name: Cynipid wasp
Scientific Name: Varies
Order: Hymenoptera
Description: Two kinds of galls are produced by this wasp. The most notable are produced by the asexual generation that are spherical, corky, 1/8 to 1 inch in diameter and appear on twigs and branches of live oak in late summer and early fall. When first formed, they are pink to pinkish brown and the yellow-green tissue inside is moist and soft.

A number of cynipid wasps cause unique galls on oak trees: the gouty oak and horned oak gall (woody twig galls), Callirhytis spp.; hedgehog gall, Acraspis erinacei Beutenmuller (leaf galls with orange-colored "hair"); wool sower gall, Callirhytis seminator Harris (stick, spongy galls on twigs with seed-like structures inside); woolly leaf gall, Andricus laniger Ashmead (leaf galls on post oak); and, oak apple, Amphibolips spp. (spherical, spongy-filled galls on red oak). Galls on trees are also caused by other insects such as some species of aphids, flies, phylloxera, psyllids, thrips and mites.

Life Cycle: Adults emerge from galls of the "asexual generation" during December. All adults are female and do not mate before laying eggs on swollen leaf buds. Eggs hatch in early spring as leaf buds begin to open. Larvae develop quickly in leaf tissue and stimulate the development of small, beige-colored galls resembling kernels of wheat. Adults of both sexes emerge from these galls or the "sexual generation" after a few weeks. After mating, females lay eggs in post oak twigs and branches. These eggs remain dormant for 3 to 5 months. Then they hatch and stimulate the formation of galls of the asexual generation.

Habitat, Food Source(s), Damage: Mouthparts are for chewing. This cynipid wasp species only affects post oak trees. Adults can be reared from galls pruned from trees and placed in plastic bags when larval development is completed.

Pest Status: Although adult wasps are rarely seen, the galls produced on live oak trees around developing stages are noticeable when numerous and can disfigure trees; medically harmless.
 
Better yet, it is my understanding that these wasps feed on nitidulids (Picnic Beetles), the main vector of the Oak Wilt virus.
All the more reason to leave them well enough alone.
Nature will look after us, if we give her a chance !
 
It needs to be noted that the gall(s) in the photos have ZERO resemblence to the galls left on Oak leaves from Cynipid wasps.
This is apples & oranges.
My argument was for galls in general.

Can we get a proper I.D. on the gall in photos #1 & #2 ???
 
I have my doubts.
Cedar Apple rust is a lot 'gooey'-er looking than that, although Juniper is the main host.
Guess I missed it ???
 
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  • #20
Nope you got it rite on Theresa. Heres a pic on the net I found.
Cedar apple rust gall with gelatinous spore horns. I guess this pic is after it rained. I guess it dries out in a dayor two after it rains and the orange color goes away.
So, if yall have a apple orchard Removing cedars located within a 2-mile radius of the orchard interrupts the life cycle of the fungus and makes control with fungicides easier. Removing all cedars within 4 to 5 miles of the orchard will provide complete control.
 

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I have my doubts.
Cedar Apple rust is a lot 'gooey'-er looking than that, although Juniper is the main host.
Guess I missed it ???

That's true, but from my understanding they get "gooey" looking when moisture is present. Otherwise they are dry and shriveled like in Robert's pics, without moisture or dormant.
 

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[...]
So, if yall have a apple orchard Removing cedars located within a 2-mile radius of the orchard interrupts the life cycle of the fungus and makes control with fungicides easier. Removing all cedars within 4 to 5 miles of the orchard will provide complete control.[...]

That's a pretty severe, if not impossible solution. Not including the orchard, that's over 12 square miles of ground you'd have to cover on the search and destroy mission... never mind the 50-80sm encompassed by a 4-5 mile radius.
 
That is just the kind of 'solution' that the Ag. depts usually come up with. Completely unrealistic and out of touch with reality.

Here we have SOD. Sudden Oak Death.

The ag. dept. recommendation is to remove infected as well as host plants.

Host plants consist of about 90% of the plant life around here.
Easier to simply move your house to the moon...
 
That is just the kind of 'solution' that the Ag. depts usually come up with. Completely unrealistic and out of touch with reality. .
Truly; a scorched earth policy is the kind they like--problem solved!:?

Teliospores are the stuff that comes out of those rust galls; as much a seasonal thing as it is moisture-dependent. Pretty groovy-looking, and typically only a nuisance to the cedar.
 
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