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“A Real Monster Nightmare”: 50 Times Mother Nature Glitched Out And It Led To Interesting Plants
Fasciation is a genetic mutation of a plant's growing tip, and it can affect the stem, flowers, or fruits.
Sometimes, the results aren't very dramatic. For example, the growing shoots may end up flattened, splayed apart, or may seem to be made up of several stems fused into one.
But other times, the effects are extremely eye-catching, such as grossly oversized flowers with a weirdly grotesque look — the closer to the ground that fasciation happens, the more exaggerated its effects tend to be.
So since spring is just around the corner, we decided to introduce you to this phenomenon and put together a collection of pics that illustrate the abnormalities that it can lead to.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Fasciated Saguaro Specimen
Scarlett O'Hara's Ghost 1 year ago
Phoenix AZ!! I hate when movies set in a desert show these on set! Like middle East deserts don't have Saguaros!
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Jackie Lulu 1 year ago
I wonder how old that cactus is, to grow something as incredible as that!
Maggie Fulton 1 year ago
Not age per se. National Park Service: Cristate or “crested” saguaros form when the cells in the growing stem begin to divide outward, rather than in the cir- cular pattern of a normal cactus. This is an unusual mutation which results in the growth of a large fan-shaped crest at the growing tip of a saguaro's main stem or arms..
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ॐBoyGanesh 1 year ago (edited)
I’d never fully developed an appreciation for the desert until I went to Tucson to see a friends band play at a hotel. We headed out to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Saguaro National Park. I was overwhelmed with the majestic beauty & teeming life all around.
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#2
Daughter Found This Branch And Uses It As Her Magic Wand
aroace mamabear 1 year ago
The fae tempted your kid ... Watch out if she starts acting strange
Michigan State University Extension horticulture educator Gretchen Voyle says that it's important to note that not every odd-looking plant is fasciated.
"With any kind of strange growth, the first thing to do is eliminate the possibility that the odd leaves or stems were caused by a light dose of weed killer or herbicide," she writes.
#3
It Tasted Good Too
cerinamroth 1 year ago
My dream come true! Seriously, the first thing I ate after I gave birth to my daughter was a whole pineapple. Best reward I could think of!
wordsupfool 1 year ago
It's funny how we remember that first little meal after giving birth. Warrior chow!
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JuniorCJ82 1 year ago
It's the incredibly rare pinepinepinepinepinepineappleappleappleappleappleapple.
cerinamroth 1 year ago
Reminds me of that little ditty "I thought I'd win the spelling bee, I'd make it to the top. But I started to spell banana and I didn't know when to stop."
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#4
Grumpkin - Grape That Looks Like A Pumpkin
Claudio Toshio 1 year ago
Looks like a Brazilian Cherry. https://i0.wp.com/revistajardins.pt/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/pitanga-1395857_1920.jpg?fit=1080%2C810&ssl=1
WindySwede 1 year ago
pitanga-13...7_1920.jpg 
(just took away the last text in the link above from Claudio Toshio, if anyone else read this.)
Manomnomnom 1 year ago
I had one that looked like that once! I carved a little face on it like a Jack-O’ Lantern 😊
#5
An Example Of Fasciation - Rare Mutation That Can Result In Beautiful And Unique Patterning. Daisies Are Particularly Susceptible To It
30ninjazinmybag 1 year ago
Daisy caterpillar. I used to make them when I was little. So pretty
Lord of the laserprinter. 1 year ago
They all looked like that for a few years in Bavaria after Chernobyl went pop. Them and quite a few other plants and animals.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Fasciation can be caused by random mutations, hormonal imbalances, viruses, bacterial infection, fungi, mites, or damage from insects! Perhaps that's why it looks creepy to us - it is NOT normal growth/overgrowth.
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Voyle explains that "lawn herbicides with 2-4,D leave grasses untouched, but kill broadleaved plants in lawns."
"However, when a small amount drifts onto a broadleaf plant, it can cause the new growth to take on a bizarre appearance."
#6
Fasciation
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Fasciation can be caused by random mutations, hormonal imbalances, viruses, bacterial infection, fungi, mites, or damage from insects!
#7
Debbie Crest Is Still Going Strong
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
It's a cultivar name for a type of Graptoveria succulent XD "Fred Ives" is another cultivar name, for example.
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Kar Red Roses 1 year ago
She’s so pretty! I love her wealth of texture and palette of subtle colors
#8
A Particularly Neat Example Of Fasciation
Courtney Christelle 1 year ago
When your parents say you can bee anything.
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LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Fasciation can be caused by random mutations, hormonal imbalances, viruses, bacterial infection, fungi, mites, or damage from insects, cold, heat, or physical injury!
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#9
Fascinating Verbena At Gravetye Manor
Remi Flynne 1 year ago
I live near Gravetye Manor - shame it's so expensive to see the gardens.
In these cases, leaves can become twisted or pig-tailed, thickened and stiff, almost like rigid plastic.
"Sometimes, tissue is rippled or rolled. There may also be browning to leaf margins or the entire leaf," Voyle adds.
#10
Found This Really Strange-Looking Strawberry
glowworm2 1 year ago
They do actually. You can find a few of these every once in a while.
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#11
Mutant Rose
YourLocalChicken 1 year ago
Reminds me of the start of the music video “Carmen” - by Land Del Rey
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Auntriarch 1 year ago
Aww mine does that occasionally, it produced a flower with three centres once. Mildred Scheele, beautiful scent
#12
The Mutant Digitalis Has So Many Blooms, The Top Is Spinning
Tabitha 1 year ago (edited)
Wonder what could be causing this mutation, as well as the others in the article.
#13
Fairy Tale Eggplant
Panflute 1 year ago
Finally, the eggplant symbol for the echidna! (Unbelievably, it has a four-headed member.)
#14
Pachypodium Lamerei At The University Of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
#15
Mutant Black-Eyed Susan
Emotional_Dumpster 1 year ago
It kinda looks like one of those Venus fly trap dudes from Mario
#16
It Has Been Blooming Like This For Over 3 Years
Vonny 1 year ago
That's what this lily is called. It's an Asiatic Lily. They have an amazing smell. I have one exactly like this, it blooms each June, but not as many blooms as this one pictured.
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#17
A Weird Pineapple That Has Undergone Cresting, Also Known As Fasciation
The weird parts have undergone trauma of some sort (bacterial or viral) or are genetically predisposed to this condition, which is causing abnormal growth patterns along the apical meristem.
TheCrazyBunnyLady 1 year ago
Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn! Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah-nagl fhtagn
Dragons Exist 1 year ago
I would be wondering what's wrong with the spacetime continuum if I saw a pineapple tree
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Dans (She/Her) 1 year ago
I thought it was a cactus at first, then a pineapple, then again a cactus
#18
A Group Of Dandelions Fused And Grew Together With One Big Stem
#19
I Thought I Might Be Experiencing Some Sort Of Episode When I First Saw This Extraordinary Thistle In Benbecula Yesterday
Leanne Hailes 1 year ago
Looks like a Matrix Caterpillar or an Alice in Wonderland Caterpillar
Load More Replies... Upstaged75 1 year ago
I had to look up where that is - it's in Scotland if you were curious. :)
#20
Not Sure What's In The Water, But It Looks Like At Least 5 Stalks Combined Into One. I Have Named It The Hive
pineapple87 1 year ago
Today I learned that asparagus grows out of the ground as individual stalks
#21
My First Tomato, I Think I'm Doing Something Wrong
Ancsuri 1 year ago
No, its just a variety of tomato. Its very good for tomato juice, or making ketchup or sauces. It s just normal tomato by us in Hungary. Last year I had some big ones weighting 0,8-0,9 kg
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Dans (She/Her) 1 year ago
TOGETHER WE ARE JUICIER also the brown stripe looks like a band holding them together lol
#22
Amazing Crested Aeonium
#23
These Bananas Are Joined Together. It Was Surprisingly Bland And Didn't Taste Very Good
#24
I Think My Madagascar Palm Is Trying To Flex On Me
Hill Branda 1 year ago
I don't think it's flexing; I think it's trying to flip you off with both hands.
#25
My Double And Triple Apples
Jack Burton 1 year ago
Just put surgeon mode on and start separate these poors apples, be gentle !
#26
My Mutant Sunflower Is Awesome
#27
Had A Visitor On My Crested Cubic Frost
Teresa Spanics 1 year ago
I remember my late Dad telling me of when his entire family would be sitting outside on a warm summer night and see thousands of dragonflies flying about catching the mosquitoes. Dad said that the cats and their kittens would jump up in the air to catch any dragonflies they could to eat.
#28
Frankenkiwi
#29
I Couldn’t Wait For This One To Completely Acclimate And Root Before I Share It, She’s Just So Perfectly Mermaid-Shaped
Tabitha 1 year ago
Idea for a future custom pot for this plant: The pot part made in the shape of the rest of the mermaid, so this “tail” can look like it has crested above the surface of the ocean—-kind of like whales’ tails do. Just a thought.
Load More Replies... Bored Retsuko 1 year ago
Those pics make me want to get succulents again! Someone please talk me out of it, I always end up killing them anyway :-/
#30
Found This Fasciated Silver Celosia Today At The Garden Center
Vonny 1 year ago
Yep it is. This is how they normally 'bloom'. Thus their nickname. :-)
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Shaunn Munn 1 year ago
Is this the way crested celosia mutated? I always wondered why they look so different from regular celosia.
Vonny 1 year ago
Yes it is, thus the nickname cockscomb, for those who don't know, it resembles the 'comb' on a rooster. :-) I've been growing celosia for decades. Very seedy plant.
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The Corn I Harvested Today Is Looking Freshly Mutated
cerinamroth 1 year ago
Nooooo! Look at those young, juicy kernels - popcorn would be such a waste. Boil for a couple of minutes, slather in salter butter and join me in nirvana!
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Brian Droste 1 year ago
That looks like sweet corn, not popcorn. Sweet corn and popcorn are two different types of corn.
Teresa Spanics 1 year ago
I used to love corn. Unfortunately, I have become allergic to it. I still wonder if organic corn would okay for me to eat.
pineapple87 1 year ago
Looks like the top part wanted to become rice krispies instead of popcorn
#32
Crested Maria
#33
Fasciated Lemon On My Tree
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 1 year ago
Bab, badadeedap deedap da. Dap deedeedee da...
Load More Replies... Jack Burton 1 year ago
I have a huge lemon tree and every winter i got one weird lemon like this for almots 300 hundreds regular lemons.
#34
Crested Echeveria Lemon Rose
#35
Growing Stable. My Crested Echeveria Minibelle
#36
This Fabulous Example Of Fasciation In An Agave Plant Is A Real Monster Nightmare
#37
Double Banana? Double Egg Yolk? How About This Here Triple Kiwi
Luke Branwen 1 year ago
It also looks like that homicidal robot from Futurama
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Absolutely Fasciated By This Eggplant
#39
My Crested Favorite. It's Called Echeveria Lincoln Frost, Got It Two And A Half Years Ago
He was small and blue, but my grow lights have produced this lovely peach stress color which I love!
Kar Red Roses 1 year ago
Stress color? What’s that about. I thought succulent love grow lights?
Pursuing Peonies 1 year ago
Ooh, I learned about this (sort of, bare with me lol) stress colors are apparently kind of like a sunburn (but without the pain) they're sort of a sign that it's gotten too much light, but not in a harmful way. Like how plants with leaves will be brighter or darker in certain light conditions.
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Mermaid Tail With Lots Of Character
#41
Giant Echium With Fasciation In My Friend's Back Yard On Northern California Coast
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 1 year ago
Okay, I love plants. But honestly, I'd be scared to get near this thing if it grew in my garden!
Up All Night 1 year ago
Normal giant Echiums are giraffe-sized to begin with, so whoever owns this mutant, wanted a real show stopper and must be very happy now!
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Ovata Acronicta 1 year ago
This looks straight out of a fantasy setting. I wonder if folks typically use fasciation for fantasy plants... they should.
#42
Fasciation Is A Common Occurrence In Plants But A Bromeliad Inflorescence Is A 1st For Me
#43
I Have A Mutant Dandelion With 8 Flowers All In One Stem
#44
Meet Sunny, My Mutant Buddy
realenancy170 1 year ago
He may be a mutant to us but the bees appreciate him like any other sunflower!
#45
My Friend Grew This Fasciated Cucumber
cerinamroth 1 year ago
Me too. I spend a lot of the day thinking about potential pickles.
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Euphorbia Susannae Crest Is Growing Like Crazy And Getting More Wrinkled
#47
My Crested Garden Succulent
Lynette Hannan (Lyn) 1 year ago
Possibly wanting more sun, maybe the house/fence shades it too much.
#48
Friend At Work Grew This Freak Asparagus
#49
What Happened To This Zucchini
#50
That’s A Buttercup
#51
My Mutated Sunflower Has Bloomed
arthbach 1 year ago
Wonder what would happen if these seeds were saved and planted the next year. Would there be similar sunflowers next year? Or is it an environmental trigger?
Candid Panda 1 year ago
Great question artbach. I would love for this to become a new hybrid!
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#52
Too Much Pine, Not Enough Apple
#53
Weird Mutation In A Gourd. This Grew At A Local Pumpkin Patch And My Friend Who Works There Grabbed It For Me
I understand gourds grow in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but this one seems a little different.
#54
Fasciated Euphorbia I Found At The Store
#56
Crested Saguaro
cerinamroth 1 year ago
If only someone could climb up there and put a couple of glowsticks in, it would freak anyone out who saw it
Randy Sanders 1 year ago
That will net you jail time and a huge fine. These are a protected species, and only grow in the Sonoran desert
Load More Replies... Tabitha 1 year ago
That particular pattern looks like it could’ve been replicated in some of the carvings on Incan pyramid-temples. If I remember correctly, they lived in a desert-like habitat, so could’ve been familiar with fasciated cacti, like this saguaro. If I’m wrong, I don’t mind an expert helping me correct and update my knowledge.
#57
Fasciation Mutation In Daisies
On the left, four flower stalks grew together and connected, creating a ring-like flower. On the right, four flower stems grew together in a band, then split into two in the middle and bloomed into two connected flowers.
Petra Schaap 1 year ago
for some reason this completely freaks me out. I really dont like this :-(
#58
Beautiful Crested Pineapple Growing In A Vietnamese Garden
Bill Swallow 1 year ago
Reminds me of the three-headed knight in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.
Tabitha 1 year ago
“What do you mean?! - You snore! - Oh I don't. Anyway, you have bad breath! - Because you never brush my teeth! - Oh, stop quickly, let's have a cup of tea!”
Load More Replies... #59
In A Fruit Market In Chiang Mai, One Of The Vendors Had This Fasciated Pineapple On Display
#60
On A Hike With My Dad At Sabino Canyon When We Saw This
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Fasciation in plants, such as this cactus, can be caused by random mutations, hormonal imbalances, viruses, bacterial infection, fungi, mites, or damage from insects, cold, heat, or physical injury.
#61
Triplet Chili
Jack Burton 1 year ago
looks like a dengerous chili charming us... "come my boy come... i'm not this hot..." and just f****d up your mouth for hours
#62
Spectacular Example Of Plant Fasciation Seen In This Thistle. Flower Heads And Stems All Fused, Creating A Very Flattened Stem And Brilliant Looking Flower Head
#63
My Ascot Rainbow Plant Has A Strange Mutation
#64
Yesterday I Came Across This Interesting Figwort, Which Was Demonstrating A Condition Known As Fasciation. This Is Where A Mutation Occurs Causing Stems To Appear Fused And Flattened
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
I am not 100% sure, but it looks like the larvae of a mullein moth!
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#66
Crested Agavoides
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Echeveria agavoides are supposed to look like the succulent in the upper right of the pot, not the cresting/spiraling mess it becomes on the left XD The upper right-hand one is "normal" for the species.
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Fasciated California Poppy I Found At Work Today
#72
An Amazing Crested Succulent Spotted At A Succulent Show
#73
Mutated Daisies In My Garden
#74
Check Out The Fasciation On This Bulbine Lily, It's Crazy Cool
#75
Fasciated Strawberries. The Whole Pack Was Practically Like This
cerinamroth 1 year ago
Usually, the bigger the fruit the less tasty... I would be interested to know if these were any good.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
I've gotten fasciated strawberries like this in flats of otherwise-normal strawberries, and the fasciated ones are fairly bland, usually.
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#77
Skull Cookie Jar (With Holes Drilled) And Crested Euphorbia Flanaganii
#79
Love This Flower Mutation
#81
Allocasuarina Looking A Little Unnatural
#82
Meet Broccoli, My Very Crested Multi-Headed Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg
She’s very top-heavy and is liable to topple any time now. I have to repot her, but I’m dreading it because I think I need to cut her down a bit along the trunk to fit better. Another idea is to turn her into several plants, since she has at least 3, maybe 4 separate crested heads.
Tabitha 1 year ago (edited)
Transfer the plant—-gently!—-to a wider pot to balance the top-heaviness. If need be, add some supports (ones that won’t end up cutting into the plant) to the widest parts to help hold them up. This absolute beauty cannot be cut or allowed to topple, and must be preserved at all costs!
#86
Boyfriend Surprised Me With This Big Crested Opuntia
#87
Just Doing Its Thing
#89
Saw This Beautiful Mutated Pride Of Madeira While Volunteering In The Wetlands Across The Street From My Neighborhood
#92
Scored This Gorgeous Crested Ghost Plant On The 1st Day Of My Plant Vacation
#96
A Thrill To Find This Magnificent Mutant Looming Tall Over The Grassland At Kebble This Morning. For Some Reason, Marsh Thistles Seem Particularly Prone To Fasciation
#99
Fasciation Can Start Off As A Crest But Then Split Off Into Separate Stems That Develop More Or Less Normally
#102
I've Seen Many Fasciated Fruits And Vegetables, But My Cousin Got Something I've Never Seen Before - Corn
#106
Check Out This Sweet Potato Vine Mutation. I've Had Vines Do This Before, But Never Like This
#108
This Made Me Stop Today, Ribwort Plantain Seems To Excel In Goofiness
#110
I've Got A Fascinating Fasciation In Thyme. Cool Or Not?
#116
My Neighbor Dug Up A Patch Of Crested Sedum Ochroleucum Because It Was "Unsightly". One Man's Trash, Right?
#117
The Leaf Scars, Scattered Irregularly On The Stalks Of The Sandalwood Tree, Resemble A Clione Climbing A Waterfall
#121
Crested San Pedro Cactus
#123
Fun Little Mutation In One Of My Coneflowers. Still Pretty And Quite Fun To Look At In The Front Yard
#124
Such A Beautiful Form. Crested Echeveria Monroe
#130
Naupaka Stem Fasciation. This Flattening Of The Stem, Flowers Or, In Some Cases, Leaves Can Be Caused By Bacterial, Viral, Hormonal, Genetic, Or Even Environmental Conditions
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Petra Schaap 1 year ago
apparently theres a phobia for everyone. I liked the succulents, but the flowers completely freaked me out, i couldnt stand looking at them, horrible :-( fasciationphobia??
Just_for_this 1 year ago
Do you mean Trypophobia? *warning, may unlock new fear for people* 😅
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Jill 1 year ago
I would like to know what causes this. Something in the air? the water? solar radiation? What??
Kittymom 1 year ago
So will all these plants continue to grow/bloom like this each yr if perennials? O
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
It depends. Fasciation in plants can be caused by random mutations, hormonal imbalances, viruses, bacterial infection, fungi, mites, or damage from insects, cold, heat, or physical injury. So, it's possible that the cause of one year's fasciation will not be present the next year!
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Petra Schaap 1 year ago
apparently theres a phobia for everyone. I liked the succulents, but the flowers completely freaked me out, i couldnt stand looking at them, horrible :-( fasciationphobia??
Just_for_this 1 year ago
Do you mean Trypophobia? *warning, may unlock new fear for people* 😅
Load More Replies... Jill 1 year ago
I would like to know what causes this. Something in the air? the water? solar radiation? What??
Kittymom 1 year ago
So will all these plants continue to grow/bloom like this each yr if perennials? O
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
It depends. Fasciation in plants can be caused by random mutations, hormonal imbalances, viruses, bacterial infection, fungi, mites, or damage from insects, cold, heat, or physical injury. So, it's possible that the cause of one year's fasciation will not be present the next year!
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