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.

#1 Grumpkin – Grape That Looks Like A Pumpkin

Image credits: IReallyLikeRice

#2 Found This Really Strange-Looking Strawberry

Image credits: reddit.com

#3 It Tasted Good Too

Image credits: malfane

#4 An Example Of Fasciation – Rare Mutation That Can Result In Beautiful And Unique Patterning. Daisies Are Particularly Susceptible To It

Image credits: SuperBlowball

#5 Fairy Tale Eggplant

Image credits: medicated_at_dawn

#6 Fasciated Saguaro Specimen

Image credits: grebilrancher

#7 Fascinating Verbena At Gravetye Manor

Image credits: richardclaxtongardens

#8 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.

Image credits: Donttalktome4

#9 Mutant Black-Eyed Susan

Image credits: Dark_Mode_Nose_Wind

#10 Frankenkiwi

Image credits: Mork978

#11 A Particularly Neat Example Of Fasciation

Image credits: MajoToHyakkihei

#12 These Bananas Are Joined Together. It Was Surprisingly Bland And Didn’t Taste Very Good

Image credits: mxksowie

#13 Amazing Crested Aeonium

Image credits: succulentist

#14 The Mutant Digitalis Has So Many Blooms, The Top Is Spinning

Image credits: sewsarah

#15 This Fabulous Example Of Fasciation In An Agave Plant Is A Real Monster Nightmare

Image credits: BotanicsMan

#16 Fasciation

Image credits: pinoy3519

#17 Debbie Crest Is Still Going Strong

Image credits: AnthocyaninFarmer

#18 Pachypodium Lamerei At The University Of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden

Image credits: GoatLegRedux

#19 Found This Fasciated Silver Celosia Today At The Garden Center

Image credits: mark_s

#20 Crested Maria

Image credits: AnthocyaninFarmer

#21 Absolutely Fasciated By This Eggplant

Image credits: Gravelsack

#22 My Friend Grew This Fasciated Cucumber

Image credits: entgardener

#23 A Group Of Dandelions Fused And Grew Together With One Big Stem

Image credits: jcmonk

#24 My First Tomato, I Think I’m Doing Something Wrong

Image credits: cellularized

#25 Euphorbia Susannae Crest Is Growing Like Crazy And Getting More Wrinkled

Image credits: argosdog

#26 I Think My Madagascar Palm Is Trying To Flex On Me

Image credits: HonestMicG32

#27 Not Sure What’s In The Water, But It Looks Like At Least 5 Stalks Combined Into One. I Have Named It The Hive

Image credits: IReallyLikeMooses

#28 My Mutant Sunflower Is Awesome

Image credits: User-name-guy

#29 Mermaid Tail With Lots Of Character

Image credits: succulentzoo

#30 What Happened To This Zucchini

Image credits: Confusedlemure

#31 Crested Saguaro

Image credits: troutslap69

#32 I Thought I Might Be Experiencing Some Sort Of Episode When I First Saw This Extraordinary Thistle In Benbecula Yesterday

Image credits: WiWildlife

#33 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!

Image credits: EvilTriffid

#34 Fasciation Is A Common Occurrence In Plants But A Bromeliad Inflorescence Is A 1st For Me

Image credits: indfnsofplnts

#35 Beautiful Crested Pineapple Growing In A Vietnamese Garden

Image credits: junkmainer

#36 Fasciated Lemon On My Tree

Image credits: tdoodles97

#37 Daughter Found This Branch And Uses It As Her Magic Wand

Image credits: SMGUTZ01

#38 My Double And Triple Apples

Image credits: Hooeylewis-Sagdiyew

#39 The Corn I Harvested Today Is Looking Freshly Mutated

Image credits: efrasyab

#40 I Couldn’t Wait For This One To Completely Acclimate And Root Before I Share It, She’s Just So Perfectly Mermaid-Shaped

Image credits: cyrilcybernated

#41 I Have A Mutant Dandelion With 8 Flowers All In One Stem

Image credits: engineer-dad

#42 Mutant Rose

Image credits: theveryacme

#43 Crested Agavoides

Image credits: suered719

#44 Friend At Work Grew This Freak Asparagus

Image credits: ponzLL

#45 Too Much Pine, Not Enough Apple

Image credits: sinsamantha

#46 That’s A Buttercup

Image credits: follytreearboretum

#47 Double Banana? Double Egg Yolk? How About This Here Triple Kiwi

Image credits: SomeoneHad2BeeASista

#48 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.

Image credits: san_kaido

#49 Triplet Chili

Image credits: ErringSpark

#50 Fasciated Strawberries. The Whole Pack Was Practically Like This

Image credits: tcmspark

#51 One Of My Myrtillo Crests Is Getting Bigger In The Heat

Image credits: djpalmer12

#52 My Crested Garden Succulent

Image credits: hmmredditor

#53 A Fasciated Banana We Found A While Ago

Image credits: Ruckus4Prez

#54 My Mutated Sunflower Has Bloomed

Image credits: ritzy_one

#55 Crested Echeveria Ghidoric Iron Under The Golden Morning Sun

Image credits: Personal_Custard7340

#56 Giant Echium With Fasciation In My Friend’s Back Yard On Northern California Coast

Image credits: stayinglight

#57 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

Image credits: theearlybirder

#58 Fasciated Euphorbia I Found At The Store

Image credits: Lumpy-Creme-3989

#59 It Has Been Blooming Like This For Over 3 Years

Image credits: kagimushi

#60 Mutated Daisies In My Garden

Image credits: xCharlesx

#61 Meet Sunny, My Mutant Buddy

Image credits: Gentlehead

#62 Growing Stable. My Crested Echeveria Minibelle

Image credits: Personal_Custard7340

#63 If It Was A Female, Then It Would Definitely Be A Weapon

Image credits: NDSUWeeds

#64 This Flower Is Very Weirdly Mutated

Image credits: swankyhumidifier

#65 My Mutant Pineapple

Image credits: ReallySmallFeet

#66 Topsy Turvy And Her Crested Baby

Image credits: SpringCreek892

#67 Scored This Gorgeous Crested Ghost Plant On The 1st Day Of My Plant Vacation

Image credits: Charlotsy

#68 An Amazing Crested Succulent Spotted At A Succulent Show

Image credits: the_simple_succulent

#69 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.

Image credits: unavoidable

#70 Fascinating Fasciation

Image credits: Gymnocladus_dentata

#71 Just Doing Its Thing

Image credits: Chronic_Monkey

#72 My Ascot Rainbow Plant Has A Strange Mutation

Image credits: RiesVA

#73 Fasciated Sunflower

Image credits: AggressiveDistrict82

#74 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.

Image credits: RatDitch

#75 Fasciated Echinacea In My Mom’s Garden. Never Seen One In Real Life

Image credits: pointandshooty

#76 Skull Cookie Jar (With Holes Drilled) And Crested Euphorbia Flanaganii

Image credits: aspect-creatio

#77 Crested Echeveria Lemon Rose

Image credits: Personal_Custard7340

#78 Had A Visitor On My Crested Cubic Frost

Image credits: AudioVideoDchon

#79 This Crested Ghost Plant Looks Like A Magical Fairy Wand

Image credits: lovelydaisy

#80 Crested Monroe

Image credits: SmokyMtnSucculents

#81 Found This Beauty At Walmart, She’s Crested

Image credits: ChattyCatty2

#82 My Dad Grew A Mutant Flower

Image credits: the_rabid_dwarf

#83 An Unusual Dandelion

Image credits: LTguy

#84 Fasciated California Poppy I Found At Work Today

Image credits: chewymcbaca1996

#85 In A Fruit Market In Chiang Mai, One Of The Vendors Had This Fasciated Pineapple On Display

Image credits: sheriff_woody_pct

#86 Boyfriend Surprised Me With This Big Crested Opuntia

Image credits: 420giggs

#87 Crested Echeveria Tuxpan, My Pride And Joy

Image credits: SucculentScience

#88 The Leaf Scars, Scattered Irregularly On The Stalks Of The Sandalwood Tree, Resemble A Clione Climbing A Waterfall

Image credits: masato2196

#89 Check Out The Fasciation On This Bulbine Lily, It’s Crazy Cool

Image credits: KiLeRaD

#90 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

Image credits: donnarainey4

#91 Awesome To See Such A Large Portion Cresting

Image credits: CupcakeNo3930

#92 Mutation In Clovers

Image credits: Fawnestly

#93 I’ve Seen Many Fasciated Fruits And Vegetables, But My Cousin Got Something I’ve Never Seen Before – Corn

Image credits: tomytronics

#94 The Spathe And Spadix Of My Peace Lily Mutated, Splitting In Half

Image credits: ikayrista

#95 Love This Flower Mutation

Image credits: Ill_Blueberry9443

#96 Echinacea Mutation

Image credits: mixedtickles

#97 My Beautiful Mutated Ranunculus

Image credits: zestylemonn

#98 Saw This Beautiful Mutated Pride Of Madeira While Volunteering In The Wetlands Across The Street From My Neighborhood

Image credits: reddit.com

#99 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

Image credits: _Stickybeak

#100 Crested Sago Palm With 7 Staminate Cones

Image credits: lizlikes

#101 Fasciated Townsendia Eximia

Image credits: grandprismaticseed

#102 This Made Me Stop Today, Ribwort Plantain Seems To Excel In Goofiness

Image credits: TrisNorton

#103 I Found A Mutated Daisy

Image credits: jessmaymartin

#104 I’m Completely In Love With My First Crested Succulent

Image credits: book_worm200414

#105 Gerbera Daisy. It’s Almost Like Conjoined Twins

Image credits: monsterscantmeme

#106 I Noticed This Cool Fasciation On A Grevillea Today

Image credits: sillybits

#107 A Super Cool Fasciated Lupine I Saw While Hiking Yesterday Near Dallesport, Washington

Image credits: smellybutch

#108 Fasciation Can Start Off As A Crest But Then Split Off Into Separate Stems That Develop More Or Less Normally

Image credits: jkris3

#109 My Neighbor Dug Up A Patch Of Crested Sedum Ochroleucum Because It Was “Unsightly”. One Man’s Trash, Right?

Image credits: Bovine_Doughnuts

#110 Crested Monster Is Spilling Over The Side Of The Pot

Image credits: HRGA23

#111 On A Hike With My Dad At Sabino Canyon When We Saw This

Image credits: Lonestar189

#112 Fun Little Mutation In One Of My Coneflowers. Still Pretty And Quite Fun To Look At In The Front Yard

Image credits: lelisblanc

#113 One Of My Dahlias Mutated And Grew About 5 Flower Heads On The Same Stem

Image credits: lostpatroness

#114 Check Out This Sweet Potato Vine Mutation. I’ve Had Vines Do This Before, But Never Like This

Image credits: Bladerdude1260

#115 Crested Tree Houseleek

Image credits: Stone_Waller

#116 This Monster Was A Gift From Someone Who Knows I Like Weird Plants

Image credits: Oopsi8afly

#117 My Fasciation Collection

Image credits: jpegdisco

#118 Crested TPM Cactus With 19 Columns

Image credits: chmcclellan

#119 Blooms On My Crested Silver Star Graptoveria

Image credits: Loggersalienplants

#120 Allocasuarina Looking A Little Unnatural

Image credits: GregBourke3

#121 Such A Beautiful Form. Crested Echeveria Monroe

Image credits: Personal_Custard7340

#122 Huge Crested Sempervivum Jungle Shadows

Image credits: cheerduck

#123 A Center Crest Echeveria Ariel

Image credits: Personal_Custard7340

#124 A Fasciated Dandelion

Image credits: brandoncorder

#125 Crested San Pedro Cactus

Image credits: 805_Succulent

#126 Sea Beet Throwing Some Funky Shapes On The Beach At Cley

Image credits: FarndonEcology

#127 Fuzzy Crested Echeveria, A Very Interesting Flat Shape

Image credits: brosephines

#128 Fasciated Flowers Of Veronicastrum Virginicum

Image credits: ian_trought

#129 I’ve Got A Fascinating Fasciation In Thyme. Cool Or Not?

Image credits: growingmedium

#130 My Pride And Joy – Senecio Vitalis

Image credits: reddit.com

#131 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

Image credits: hui_ku_maoli_ola

#132 Cool Fasciated Euphorbia

Image credits: whalegut

#133 Crested Echeveria Cv. Takasagonookina

Image credits: illdependent

#134 My Mutant Strawberry

Source: boredpanda.com