I’ve had African Violets in the past but never seen this before. Very interesting. It looks to be tunnels made by some type of burrowing insect. Or some kind of mosaic pattern.

AVs respond to a lot with issues with their leaves, but I don't know.

I've grown lots of AVs for decades and have never seen anything like that on my AVs. It looks like leafminer damage!

@party_music50 I agree with you, though I have no idea how leaf miners would enter my kitchen. I occasionally get ants - maybe they can carry something to the plants. Someone on another site suggested mosaic disease, but I'm not clear on what that is. I removed all the damaged leaves. We'll see how it goes from here. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I think I’ve heard of that mosaic disease. From what I’ve read on another forum (the Adenium forum, maybe...) that one is a bad one. Such that people have had to destroy their entire collections. I mean like bag up and toss out or burn. That kind of bad. Hoping that’s not what this is.

Can you show a few different photos of the entire plant?

imr2, I have no personal experience. But a quick bit of research suggests to me that mosaic disease (a virus) is not likely the problem. See Wikipedia, where "anemone mosaic virus" is listed as possible, but there's no link to it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African_violet_diseases

Moreover your leaf symptoms are not mentioned at all at "Doctor Optimara." https://www.optimara.com/doctoroptimara/diagnosis.html

Because of the patterns I too am suspicious of a leaf-miner, and hopeful that by removing the affected leaves you've dealt with the problem.

But I'd also say this might not be a bad time to employ a systemic pesticide, such as Bonide Houseplant Systemic Insect Control Granules. This looks a lot more like a pest to me, than a disease.

I most recently got this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00URP7BQ4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

WAY MORE than I need, but I suppose it lasts forever and was as cheap as anything that comes in smaller quantities.

Good luck!

Joan

It can be watering... cold water and a lot of it..

Remove the damaged leaves, make sure that you water sparingly and with a room temperature water. OBSERVE.

You can always decorate a compost pile with these plants if the problem persists...

i'd be interested as to what it is...please be sure to let us know...thanks, sharon

This may remain a mystery. I've explored all suggestions and none seem to fit. I removed the damaged leaves and all looks well for the time being. Thank you, everyone, for your concern and suggestions.

Well done, imr2. She looks happy and healthy, and if lacking in symmetry, well, that can be changed over time. I love the gloss of the leaves, and the upright aspect of those near the center. Again, well done!

It looks like someone was trying to do you a favor, and watered your violet. Tell them you'll do it yourself next time.

join facebook group called african violet nerds...show them the pics and ask there...you will get super growers suggestions and advice..

Hi- did you ever figure out the leaf issue? I have an African Violet whose leaves look just like yours! All my other African Violets are fine but this one is having major issues with the strange yellow discoloration.

I do not grow AVs but the picture shows leaf miner damage, as stated above. The tunnelling is very clear. Whether yours have the same problem we can’t tell without pictures.

@julia thiel I did not figure it out. It's been about two years since my initial post. I can't remember if I disposed of the plant to avoid infecting the others, or if it died. I used to keep four violets on my windowsill and have three now, none of which have the damage shown in my original post.

I originally said it looks like leaf miner damage — since then I’ve seen similar damage in a friend’s AVs that I suspect suffered from bouts of being underwatered and then overwatered and possibly too cold…. she is only home for part of the weekends, so that’s when they get their care (or don’t).

@party_music50 You are exactly right! Thank you for solving the mystery.