2018 arrived in Caddo parish with an arctic chill. This past week we experienced temperatures in the teens, finally putting the mosquitoes to bed for the winter (*fingers crossed*). Thankfully the cold air wasn't accompanied by any precipitation, so the trees and woody vines were unfazed.
With most of the trees leaf-less, the evergreen species stand out. This week we are taking another look at the eastern red cedar (
Juniperus virginiana). Last week we discussed two volunteers growing on the slope west of Hamilton Hall. The individual pictured below is also a volunteer, approximately 15 years of age. It germinated under the canopy of an old sweet gum tree (
Liquidambar styraciflua). The sweet gum was removed more than a decade ago, allowing the eastern red cedar plenty of room to stretch its limbs.
 |
| Our tree of the week is pictured center. A few other evergreen species are also pictured. At the far left, we have the leaves of Magnolia grandiflora. Towering over the landscape, behind the eastern red cedar, is a very old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). Palmettos, the fetter-bush, and a red bay are the other spots of green. |
 |
| This eastern red cedar has the characteristic Christmas-tree appearance. It germinated on the south side of a very large sweet gum tree, and had the sweet gum lived, the eastern red cedar would not have had the necessary room to develop its conical shape. |
 |
| The pale blue cones indicate that this is a female eastern red cedar. |
 |
| Zooming in on the female cones, we also see the scale-like leaves. |
 |
| Among the leaves and cones, something else is hanging from the branches. |
 |
| This irregularly shaped brown growth might be mistaken for tree reproduction. It's actually a gall produced by a fungus called Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae. This fungus is responsible for the plant disease 'cedar-apple rust'. |
 |
| The eastern red cedar serves as a host for the fungus, which is detrimental to susceptible apple trees, hence the name 'cedar apple rust'. Pictured above: the gall was removed from the tree and broken into pieces revealing a hard greenish-white interior. If we had allowed it to continue its life-cycle, it would have continued to develop until the first several warm rainy days, at which time it would release spores into the environment. |
 |
| This is a dead gall. It appears to have killed the twig. |
 |
| Despite the fungal infection, this eastern red cedar is doing marvelously. Overall, eastern red cedars are not harmed by the cedar apple rust. |
 |
| Typical reddish-brown shreddy bark of the eastern red cedar |
| . |
|
