SitkaNature: 1000 Species Project

Coastal Spruce Cone Rust
Chrysomyxa monensis

The orange spots on this plant (notice that it’s also on the leaves), is a rust (fungus). Several of the plants had this fungal infection but still seemed to be developing, albeit with extra orange spots.

Apparently many rust fungi utilize more than one host to complete their life cycle. This particular species only uses Sitka Spruce (where it grows on the cones) and Single Delight (as seen here) for the various parts of its life cycle.