# Pimples on leaves, plus clear round eggs



## fishmommy

Got some kind of bug making a mess out of some Cissus discolor.
The plant is growing strong, but the leaves are covered with clear/milky cysts that go through the leaves, and there are also round clear eggs stuck to the stems. Could be two different things I guess.

Pics:

Eggs stuck to stem plus good view of leaf cysts showing how three dimensional they are









Underside of leaf showing eggs stuck to center rib, also shows bumpy texture of cysts









underside of leaf showing how the cysts go right through the tissue









top of leaf showing the yellowish nubbly top surface of the cysts (they are milky on the undersides)










so what do I have and how do I get rid of it? no frogs in tank.

thank you


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## Anoleo2

I have the same exact plant with the same exact thing. It's in with other plants, but no other plants have it...

I can't get it to go away!!! :evil:


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## dragonfrog

You might try taking one of the leaves off the plant and put it in a sealed container and wait to see what hatches, if anything. Have you ever seen any strange bugs in the viv?


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## fishmommy

nope - no bugs in the viv that I have been able to see after much observation

I like the jar idea.

Anoleo2 - interesting - and we live relatively close together...must be the same source.
What have you tried so far? I'd hate to waste my time on something you've tried already.


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## xm41907

I don't think that it is insects that has caused the galls on your leafs. Those round things could be eggs, but I don't think they are the cause of the plant problem. Due to the number of galls and lack of suspeced insects I would guess it to be a plant disease, especially if Anoleo2 is having the same thing. Definitely put it in a sealed container and give it a month or so. If nothing emerges after 6 weeks, then it isn't an insect.


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## fishmommy

I just dissected some of the cysts under the microscope and didn't find any evidence of insects or larvae.
I hadn't been thinking of it as a disease but you're probably right.

hmmmm....very troubling.


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## fishmommy

well I've got a leaf in a jar now.

doing a lot of googling and the closest thing I can see to what this looks like is a type of Rust. it could be that this is an early stage, since the pustules are still very light in color. Asian Soybean rust seems to look like this in the early stages. This plant is a vine... hmmm....

Diagnosing this for sure looks pretty impossible. I'll wait and watch but may end up trashing the plant. Even the very youngest leaves have lesions....not a good sign.


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## Anoleo2

I've had it for a long time and haven't seen any insect-like creatures in with it...

I haven't really tried getting rid of it, I just took some of the youngest leaves and put it in a whole other viv, but after awhile they develop those bumps too.

Let me know if you're successful!


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## xm41907

it could be a common occurance with that particular plant. I wouldn't trash it unless it looks like the plant won't survive. I'm no plant expert, but from what I know, many plant diseases are species specific. If it's not hurting anything, why get rid of it?


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## fishmommy

well, for one thing it's ugly
and for another - there's always the chance that it will spread as long as we don't know for sure what it is.

I'm likely to trash the plant and buy a new one in a couple weeks if I can't figure it out.
why cultivate a diseased plant?


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## Frogtofall

The plant is not diseased. Its gutating (not sure if I spelled that right). Basically the plant "sweats" and sugars and/or minerals collect on the leaf surface. Oddly, its a good sign and it happens to C. discolor and C. amazonica. Not sure if the other Cissus do that too.

Its not diseased! :wink:


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## fishmommy

really?
I need to look into that!

it certainly is growing like a weed right now....

would this process give it cysts that go thru the leaf tissue, or just on the surface? This really appears to be in the tissue and causing damage.


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## Frogtofall

fishmommy said:


> really?
> I need to look into that!
> 
> it certainly is growing like a weed right now....
> 
> would this process give it cysts that go thru the leaf tissue, or just on the surface? This really appears to be in the tissue and causing damage.


Not sure. I'm definitely no plant pathologist but its possible you have 2 things going on here. This picture is the thing I was talking about...


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## fishmommy

heh, even if you were a plant pathologist, it's really hard to tell much from a crappy internet pic :wink: 

I took a good look under the microscope and this is definitely not some sort of exudate - it's tissue damage for sure. It looks most like Rust, but I have no clue what it actually is, other than ugly :shock:


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## Frogtofall

fishmommy said:


> heh, even if you were a plant pathologist, it's really hard to tell much from a crappy internet pic :wink:
> 
> I took a good look under the microscope and this is definitely not some sort of exudate - it's tissue damage for sure. It looks most like Rust, but I have no clue what it actually is, other than ugly :shock:


How are you positive? Is the plant dying? Has it slowed growth?

I will say that every single C. discolor I've seen has the condition I mentoined on the leaf underside. I will also say I don't ever remember seeing it coming through to the top side of the leaf. As I said before, you could quite possibly be having 2 things going on at once here.

The photos of the leaves from the top side look almost like a viral infection. The little crystal like bumps on the leaf underside are definitely the gutate concentrations. Notice how on the udnerside they almost hang from the surface while whatever is on the top side seems to be trying to poke through it.


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## doogs

*beautiful evolution*

hi there guys

im new here and im also an aussie horticulturalist and i thought i best put this one to sleep for you as what this actually is, is a common form of defence in many tropical plant genuses. yours being most likely from the look of it belonging to the genus that is ''passion vines'' yes the same as passion fruit that we all love too eat. what your seeing is thousands of years worth of evolution as they've developed these cysts to imatate butterfly eggs so as when a real female butterfly comes to lay her eggs on the vine that she finds shes to late and that theres already eggs on that vine.butterflys will not lay eggs on over populated vines. i believe theres a segment on this in the bbc's life of plants series or another insect doco ummmm.... no link soz. but this is what there trying to avoid ,ok cant post links yet but check it out on utube or something like that.
anyway i hope its not to late to stop you from scraping what is a beautiful vine which has one of the most impressive flowers your likely too see.


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## fishmommy

the plant in question is Cissus discolor

Interesting theory - does it apply just to Passiflora?


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## xm41907

if you decide to chuck the plant. I'll take it. Trying to build my plant collection.

James


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