Fasciation (also called cresting) is fairly common if you keep an eye out for it and nothing to get too alarmed about. Here it is on a cactus. Howard Garrett / Special Contributor The first time I saw ...

Understanding the Context

Fasciation comes from the Latin for “bundled,” and indeed fasciated plant parts look bunched together, almost as though they’ve been melted, flattened and stretched. It can happen to any plant part. Oregonian: What is plant ‘fasciation’ and will it spread? Ask Extension expert Dear Debbie: You are seeing a plant phenomenon known as fasciation.

Key Insights

The growing tip typically produces cylindrical tissue for round stems but occasionally produces elongated tissue resulting in a ... Times-Standard: Fascinating fasciation | Eureka gardener shares story behind ‘unusual lily development’ Marian Brady of Eureka has been watching an “unusual lily development” play out in her backyard for nearly two months. The floral phenomenon — known as fasciation — can result in flattened stems, a ... Global News: Mutant daisies? Fukushima flowers likely mutated by fasciation, not radiation The phenomenon may occur in the stem, root, fruit, or flower head.

Final Thoughts

Some plants are grown and prized aesthetically for their development of fasciation. [3] Any occurrence of fasciation has several possible causes, including hormonal, genetic, bacterial, fungal, viral and environmental causes. Fasciation is a malformation of plant parts commonly manifested as enlargement, flattening or cojoining. The abnormal growth of plants can be uniquely puzzling and beautiful at the same time. It can occur in almost any part of a plant but is most noticeable in the stems or flowers. Fasciation is a unique mutation that produces unusual flowers, but does it harm the plant?

Find out the cause and what you should do. Fasciation in Plants: What You Need to Know - Birds and Blooms These are examples of fasciation, a term which comes from the Latin word "fascis," meaning band or bundle. Fasciation is the result of a disruption to the normal development of a growing point, or apical meristem, on a plant. Flattened, elongated shoots and flower heads that look like many stems compressed together are called fasciation.