How do plants become variegated?
For some plants, variegation occurs naturally as part of their physiology. There are three types of natural variegation depending on whether the genetic mutation only happens to some parts of the plant or the entire plant . They are:
How do you get variegated succulents?
If you are interested in adding colors to the plant, you may try to use sun stress for light-sensitive plants such as succulents. The best way to induce variegation in plants is to propagate a species that is genetically variegated or propagate the parts that are variegated.
What are the different types of variegation in plants?
Another kind variegation commonly seen in our favorite indoor plants is referred to as either blister variegation or reflective variegation. Tiny air pockets form between the pigmented lower and unpigmented upper layers of the leaves in this type of plant.
How does radiation cause variegation in plants?
This process is also known as mutation breeding (International Atomic Energy Agency, n.d) In theory, radiation can cause variegation in plants, as the X-rays and Gamma rays can produce mutations in the plant’s DNA that may result in a variegated plant.
Can you induce variegation in plants?
One way to induce variegation in plants artificially is by using chemicals, such as those found in some herbicides, to induce random changes in a plant's DNA. The most widely used is Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) (Cieslack & Till, 2016) present in some herbicides.
Is variegated plants natural?
Sometimes called Pigmented or Natural Variegation, some variegated plants aren't mutants at all, but rather are naturally patterned.
Can you force a plant to Variegate?
The good news is that it is possible to induce the production of variegated tissues in houseplants through various means including chemical mutagens (such as Ethyl methanesulfonate), exposure to ionizing radiation (such as X-Rays and Gamma Rays) and transposing genes from one plant to another.
How do plants get more variegation?
Place the plant in full sun to encourage variegation. Variegated plants need more sun than solid green plants because they don't have as much chlorophyll to absorb sunlight. If you're growing a variegated plant, leave it near a sunny window or a bright spot on your property so it absorbs enough sun to stay healthy.
Is variegation a mutation?
Variegations can be caused by mutations in nuclear, chloroplast or mitochondrial genes. In some plants, the green and white sectors have different genotypes, but in others they have the same (mutant) genotype.
Are variegated plants rare?
As we said, variegation is very rare, so your chance of having a plant randomly producing variegation is about 1:100'000. So in order to get a variegated plant from a Monstera Deliciosa, you would have to make 100'000 cuttings and produce new plants.
Why are variegated leaves not common in nature?
In nature these forms usually die out, being weaker growers because of the lack of chlorophyll, which plants use to make the food they need for growth. Variegation can also be the result of a viral infection, showing as discolored veins or leaf areas. This form of variegation is relatively rare, but it is stable.
Can a normal Monstera become variegated?
Is It Possible for Regular Monstera to Develop Variegation? Although uncommon, regular Monstera can develop variegation over time. A friend of mine got lucky where one of his Monstera Deliciosa cuttings start to show Albo variegation. The chances of randomly developing a variegated Monstera are only about 1 in 100,000.
Why are variegated plants so challenging to care for?
In general the more white a plant is, the more challenging it will be to care for because it will be making less sugars for food. Because variegated plants demand such high prices these days, many people are trying to use chemicals to induce variegation.
Which plant has a mutation that can lead to variegation?
Studies in the mustard family plant Arabidopsis have identified several genes the mutation of which can lead to variegation. The following image of a variegated Arabidopsis plant is taken from a review paper you can access here.
What are the chemicals that cause random mutations?
These may be mutagens, like EMS (ethyl methanesulfonate), which are highly toxic chemicals that cause random mutations and can produce chimeral meristems (or less often stable genetic mutations) that lead to variegation. Chemicals that inhibit chloroplast development or chlorophyll production are also used.
What happens when a cell divides to produce more daughter cells?
That cell divides to produce more daughter cells, a process eventually resulting in a meristem that is a mix of albino and normal cells. This mutation may arise spontaneously or be induced by mutagenesis (this means causing random mutations by using chemicals or X-rays).
Why are plants green?
Subsequently, in my second blog post entitled "Secret life of plants 2: photosynthesis", we learned that plants are green in color because they contain chlorophyll, a pigment essential to photosynthesis, the process by which plants use the energy of the sun to make sugars from carbon dioxide. Photosynthesis takes place in chloroplasts - complex ...
What gene is the primrose plant?
The following picture, taken from that paper, is a primrose plant with a mutation in the chloroplast gene which contains the blueprint for psaB, a protein involved in photosynthesis that resides in the chloroplast membrane.
What is the meristem in a plant?
In variegated plants, the meristem itself is variegated and gives rise to variegated structures. The meristem itself is a mix of atypical albino (non-chlorophyll producing cells) and more typical green cells. The variegation usually appears as alternating stripes as in the plant below. In other cases, one layer of the cells in ...
What is a variegated plant?
Variegation is a term that is used rather loosely in the plant world. When it comes down to it, any plant displaying multiple colors can be called variegated. The word Variegated comes from the latin word variegatus, which means “made of various sorts or colors.”
Why are some variegated cultivars or species hard to come by?
One of the reasons that some variegated cultivars or species are hard to come by is that only certain plants with chimeral variegation can be propagated successfully from stem cuttings, and no chimera will come “true to type” (exhibiting the same phenotype — in this case , variegation) from root cuttings, leaf cuttings or seeds.
What does it mean when a plant has white dots and yellow spots?
Sometimes, chimeral variegation is randomly spread out around the plant. This is the case with Variegated Monstera, for instance, where you see white or yellow patches and dots splashed around the leaves almost like they’re splattered with paint, while some leaves emerge entirely white and others entirely green.
What is the most common type of variegation?
Chimeral variegation is the most common type of variegation. Caused by a genetic mutation, In this type of variegation, plants show two different chromosomal make-ups in a single plant, where some tissue is able to produce chlorophyll and other is not. The result is a plant with white or yellow zones intermixed with the solid green form — this kind of plant is called a chimera. Variegated Monstera deliciosa is one such chimera.
Why do my plants have variegated leaves?
Some variegated leaves are actually caused by viruses, such as the Mosaic virus. Though not super common, sometimes the resulting variegation from a virus is desirable and can be reproduced. Though not an indoor plant, one variegated plant where this type of viral variegation can be seen is certain Hosta cultivars.
What is reflective variegation on watermelon?
Watermelon Peperomia (Peperomia argyreia, below) is one such plant that exhibits this reflective variegation. The silvery stripes that lend the plant its nickname are actually strips of reflective air pockets! This type of variegation doesn’t always appear so symmetrically, though; for example, the random spots on the leaves of Scindapsus pictus (aka Satin Pothos, above) are also caused by blister variegation.
What plant has purple dots on its leaves?
For example, Calathea lancifolia (Rattlesnake Calathea) exhibits pigmented variegation, with a regular patterning of purple dots on its lanceolated green leaves. Likewise, Ctenanthe burle-marxii (Fishbone Prayer Plant) and other members of the Marantaceae family have Pattern-Gene variegation.
What are the parts of a variegated plant that are useless?
In variegated leaves, only the green bits can photosynthesize. The white and yellow parts are essentially useless. This is why variegated cultivars of the same plant are frailer and more prone to diseases, they get half the energy their normal counterparts get.
How to produce a variegated monstera?
naturally Otherwise the only way one can produce a variegated Monstera is by buying a cutting from an already variegated plant or if a normal Monstera is showing these signs of mutation,
Why is variegation an abnormal condition?
Variegation is actually an abnormal condition for plant. Since variegated parts can' t do photosynthesis efficiently, it will eventually stunts the plant. The plant will naturally attempt to outgrow this abnormality by growing non- variegated parts, sometimes vigorously, to make up for the inefficiency. The more this non-variegated parts grow, the faster the plant will produce them since they generate more energy. Left on its own, the plant will normalize itself by growing dominant, non- variegated parts until the variegated ones are no more. This process is called reversion.
What causes variegated daylilies to die?
Of course this results in other types of detrimental genetic issues and is a random occurrence . It seems to also be occurring more frequently in daylilies due to inbreeding allowing more recessive traits (sometimes harmful) to be expressed . Many more albino daylilies pop up than variegated seedlings and they die as soon as the food in the seed is exhausted. Overall, it is more often that a variegated sport or seedling was discovered by chance than was created. One exception to this would be cross-breeding from variegated plants like bromeliads that do pass on the trait. Chester Skotak has done this with great success. If you are interested in variegated plants, check out GlasshouseWorks: Glasshouse Works: Rare & Exotic Plants Here’s a Skotak hybrid, Nitro:
What are the advantages of variegation?
ADVANTAGES » Stable variegation phenotype: Transformed plants are viable and reproductive. » Proven in multiple plant species including Arabidopsis, Brachypodium, Tobacco, Canola and Rice. » Convenient phenotype control using specific promoters: For example, with an alcohol-inducible promoter, variegation can be induced by spraying plant leaves with ethanol. » Visible Selection: Plants carrying a gene of interest can be easily identified without antibiotics or other chemicals. T1 tobacco plants expressing the Inno
What is the difference between Dracaena and Sansevieria?
The difference between Dracaena species and Sansevieria, plus the ones Betsy mentioned is it has softer thin leaves whereas all the others have thick succulent leaves. That should help. You don't need to buy the exact same plant but only one that looks similar!
Why are leaves green?
Leaves are green because they contain chlorophyll, which is green. This is necessary for photosynthesis, which is a process by which the plant turns sunlight into food.