Crabapple or Hawthorn? Identifying a Berry Bush with Cedar-Apple Rust

Crabapple or Hawthorn? Identifying a Berry Bush with Cedar-Apple Rust

A gardener wanted to identify a berry bush, thought it was a blueberry due to the crown, but leaves didn't match. Fruit green turning red.

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Expert Identification

The bush is likely a crabapple. Lobed leaves are distinctive; fruit small. Could be hawthorn, but that would have smooth inch-long thorns on branches (not seen). The bush also has cedar-apple rust: orange spots on leaves with pointy projections on underside releasing spores, which travel to junipers/cedars forming woody galls that turn juicy orange in spring and spread spores back. Hawthorns, apples, and pears get similar rusts.