I was out walking in early June and spotted an extraordinary foxglove. The flowers that would normally make up the last 5 to 8 centimetres of the spike were fused into a single giant daisy-like flower. How did this come about? I have seen no others like it, though I have been scouring the lanes since.
From the number of letters we received, it is clear that this aberration is not uncommon, as our first reply shows 鈥� Ed
鈥� We found a very similar though less extreme foxglove in our garden in Yorkshire, UK, in 2000 (see below; the white flowers are on a different plant), and again in 2002 in another part of the garden. The aberrant flowers did not produce seeds, and the seeds from normal flowers on the same plant produced only normal flowers.
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Gill and Adrian Smith, York, UK
鈥� The photo shows a fasciated flower. Fasciation is a mutant growth form in which normal cell patterns no longer function and are replaced with a distorted cancer-like growth. A common symptom is lateral instead of vertical growth.
鈥淭he local bee population is fascinated, presumably attracted by the sheer size of the flower鈥�
鈥淢onster鈥� forms are not unusual and occur in a variety of plants, including euphorbias, many species of cacti and the cultivar of Cryptomeria japonica called monstrosa. Fasciation can be caused by point mutations following exposure to ultraviolet light or cosmic rays. Viruses, insects, mites and local environmental abnormalities can also be contributing factors.
Bill Barnes, Warrington, Pennsylvania, US
鈥� This looks like fasciation, the abnormal growth resulting from damage to a growing point. The damage may be caused by insects, frost, bacteria, herbicides, a chance mutation or garden tools. The result is often a wide, flat stem that looks like several laterally fused stems. Only the damaged shoot has this appearance, which is generally unlikely to recur the next season.
My garden showed such a stem in a cowslip this year. The flowers looked normal, but formed a congested cluster. Foxgloves and primulas are prone to this, as are some cacti. In some plants the condition may be inherited, such as the plant with the common name cockscomb.
Jackie Williams, Liverpool, UK
鈥� Frost damage when the flower buds are forming, viral infections and a genetic change passed down from a parent plant via seed can all cause this unusual flower. I have collected and grown seeds from a similar plant, and the progeny carry the same characteristics as the parent. The local bee population is fascinated by my fasciated plants, presumably attracted by the sheer size of the flower.
Tom Adams, Radstock, Avon, UK