Sunday, June 19, 2011

Three-headed Monster

We found this three-headed corn poppy in Teesdale this morning. Sometimes abnormalities like this can be caused by herbicide sprays but, since there were other perfectly normal flower stems on the same plant, I think this was simply a chance developmental aberration. The flower stem is flattened like a plank - fasciated in botanical parlance - and this sometimes happens when growing points that would normally develop into separate shoots become joined together. There can be a variety of causes, including physical damage by an insect or pathogen, infection by the bacterium Rhodococcus (Corynebacterium) fascians, environmental shock or a genetic cause. There are other examples of fasciation here and here.

Here's a normal one...

8 comments:

  1. Looks like a 3 headed serpent. I have seen five headed serpents carved in stone in some temples.

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  2. Definitely looks like a monster! Interesting to learn the new term - fasciated.

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  3. That is something special Phil, wish I had seen that in the flesh. Thanks for the explanation.

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  4. Hi lotusleaf, it does look as though it's about to strike....

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  5. Hi swanscot - I've sometimes seen viper's bugloss plants that show the same syndrome, with broad, flat stems...

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  6. Hi Toffeeapple, might go back and see what it looks like in flower....

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  7. Hi Phil as ever fascinating stuff and most enlightening. Driving back along the A68 and 69 this afternoon its a real poppy fest year, or is it just me!.

    Stewart

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  8. Hi Stewart, there do seem to be some great displays of poppies around this year, don't there? There's a wonderful field of them on the way into Corbridge from the A*/A69 roundabout too...

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