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What is this?

I found some small, round objects on my Cycas revoluta. 100X magnification:

I took a few amateur pics in my microscope with my ill-adapted digital camera:
IMG_0078.jpg


IMG_0090.jpg


IMG_0091.jpg


Shining a blue LED on the object reveals the texture:
IMG_0084.jpg


Found on the underside of dying leaves on this particular plant:

IMG_0092.jpg


They are about 0.2 to 0.5mm across, if I remember and judge correctly.

Any help would be appreciated. :)
 
nevermind
 
My guess is that those are fruiting bodies of a fungus. I did a little searching and couldn't find any specific fungal diseases that attack Cycas species and wonder if the fungus is the cause of the problem or just being opportunistic. There's a cycad scale that's causing problems - http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/publications/epubs/CAS_control_tips-landscape4.pdf - and you should search the plant for any signs of it.

I used to have several cycads and found them to be very sensitive to changing environments, over-watering and over-fertilization. Overall, your plant looks very healthy and I think you should do nothing to it for several weeks and try to keep it away from drafts and intense sun. Let it get good and dry before watering it and don't fertilize until you see new fronds starting in the spring. I used to water mine very few times during the 6+ months they spent inside.
 
Thanks so much for the help, Bruce. :hail:

That does make sense; None of my hypotheses made sense, but I never suspected it could be a fungal issue. I looked the plant over thoroughly after I found these little capsule-like objects, but no other pests were found. Scale is indeed a very scary outcast of an arthropod, and I hope not to have to deal with it on any of my CPs or nice plants anytime soon.
 
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