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