Live oak problems

[BayouTree]

I've been noticing this pattern of leaf damage on our live oaks county wide. It's doesn't appear to be having an affect on the overall health of the tree. Not sure what is causing this exactly. One idea was some sort of bacterial leaf spot.

Any other ideas?

Thanks.

 

[BayouTree]

For anyone who has been looking at this post I thought I'd follow up. I sent leaf samples in to the extention office and got the diagnosis back today.

And the winner is:
Oak leaf blister (Taphrina caerulescens)

The damage sure didn't look to me like oak leaf blister, but maybe that is just how it manifests itself in live oak. It would make since because of our rainy spring. I have noticed the Oak leaf blister on a lot of our water oaks, but it displayed the typical symptoms of a "blister on the leaf". No blisters seen on the live oaks, but maybe because it is a thicker leaf it won't blister up.

Any thoughts?

Anybody?

Anybody?

Beuller? Beuller?

 

[BonsaiJedi]

Hmmmm...do you suppose they cultured the fungus or just threw out a guess? What ype of spring weather do ya'll have this year? Any chance there was some cold (near or below freezing) a few months ago? I've seen damage from cold on trees that looks awfully similar but since you're in Houston it isn't as easy to draw that conclusion...

 

[BayouTree]

Hmmmm...do you suppose they cultured the fungus or just threw out a guess? What ype of spring weather do ya'll have this year? Any chance there was some cold (near or below freezing) a few months ago? I've seen damage from cold on trees that looks awfully similar but since you're in Houston it isn't as easy to draw that conclusion...

I spoke with the pathologist this morning and he said they identified the fungus in some of the brown areas of tissue by identifying fungal structures under microscope. I asked about how the damage pattern didn't seem to fit the typical oak leaf blister pattern and he said that depending on the time the leaf was infected can affect the way the damage pattern looks. He said the oak leaf blister has been really heavy this year. He agreed the damage didn't all look like oak leaf blister and suggested that maybe a few warm days in the spring with high winds could have damaged some of the leaves. I did notice more damage on trees that were transplanted within the last two years, but the pattern of damage was pretty species specific to live oak. We did experience a cold snap (30 degrees) I believe in Feb or March with some ice. It could be possible that it may have damaged some of the tender leaves. That thought had crossed my mind as well, but it may be a little far fetched. The pathologist said he had only received samples in with cold damage this year from the far north panhandle. Lots of fruit trees damaged I believe in Mo. because of this cold and ice.

 

[BonsaiJedi]

Far be it for me to second guess a lab guy...but after looking up some pictures of Taphrina caerulescens I'm fairly unconvinced. You're leaves have necrotic spots without any buckling or raised spots as caused by the galling forming fungus. And if you are seeing it more on new transplants versus established trees it would follow that it may be an abiotic issue (like cold) that affects the more sensitive, younger trees. Strange...I guess the answer is to monitor the new growth throughout the season and see if it continues. Good work on the investigation!

 

[BayouTree]

Thank you for the feed back.

Here are a few pictures I took today of some oak leaf blister on a live oak. They pretty much fit the standard. My guess is a combination of factors caused the damage on the previous pictures with the oak leaf blister contributing a small amount. The lab is only able to look for biotic agents that caused damage to the leaf, so their diagnosis makes sense. It helps to look a little deeper sometime too.