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In an answer to the question regarding variegation, “what makes certain plants have variegated leaves? Is this an adaptation for survival, the way cactus features are or the way flowers are built to appeal to pollinators?” The Horticulture Magazine stated:
Variation in leaf color arises because of a lack of the green pigment chlorophyll in some of the plant cells. It isn’t an adaptation to the environment, but instead it is usually the result of a cell mutation, and can be inherited (genetic) or occur randomly (chimeric). If genetic, the color change is stable, which means that if you propagate a green shoot from a plant with colored leaves or sow its seed, the coloring will reappear in the new plant. This applies both to green leaves with irregular markings (variegation), say in white and yellow, and to those of a single solid color such as gold or purple.
The idea that the trait could be stable and preserved was very exciting upon reading the above information. Further encouragement came by way of a heated discussion regarding variegation on the Instagram page of @unknowngrower. Many great bits of information came from multiple sources that participated in the debate but we all arrived a final conclusion. This conclusion came by way of the research of @unknowngrower and the answer helped to confirm the previous understanding on variegation provided by Horticulture Magazine. @Unknowngrower was able to contact a former Director at the Smith College who stated, in regards to a description of the variegated Vanilluna:
This information and understanding about the chimera-like nature of the variegated Vanilluna was not only fascinating but also true! After popping 12 seeds produced from the variegated Vanilluna mother plant, 11 of the 12 displayed some form of variegation or albinism. It would seem that, based on the part of the mother plant the seed developed on and the the pattern of that area of development, the seed would possess the specific genetics of that particular part of the plant. The idea of seeds from a chimera has profound implications, especially in regards to genetic diversity and the potential of the progeny. Many of the sprouts looked just like their mother did when she first broke ground.
This Vanilluna F2 sprout looks almost identical to it’s mother at this same stage in her life.
As the seedlings grew, their variegated display became much more pronounced than the their mother and their is a greater manifestation of white/albino parts than in the P1 generation.
These seedlings have since grown and developed some really peculiar expressions. Solid white foliage has become dominant in a few of the seedlings in contrast to the variegation of their mother.
I was surprised to find that two of the seedlings with the most predominate white leaves continued to grow after a month. I didn’t expect them to progress because of their lack of chlorophyll but they are doing well despite those deficiencies.
The two premier plants of the twelve, based on visual appeal, became even more vibrant when they reached the full sun. I noticed that the subtle pink color foreshadowed in new growth and main stalk of the plants became a much deeper fuchsia color when exposed to strong full sun. This cause me to make an association between the color expression and the light intensity which in turn caused me to do some reading. My studies led me to some really good information that corroborated my assertions. Aside from more scholarly sources, High Times even had a fancy article regarding this phenomenon in a 2016 article regarding ‘Anthocyanins‘.
It certainly appears as if the anthocyanins within the plants are responding well to the sunlight in attempts to mitigate the light intensity. Being that the sunlight is bringing out more radiant colors, I hope that this phenotypic expression will be passed on to the next generations. Most High willing, we will be able to move forward with these traits to make more seed stock and get some chemotype test results in order to better understand what we are potentially working with.
If the original Vanilluna parents of DJ Short’s Vanilluna (the P1 mother having been lost) were the P1’s then the variegated Vanilluna mother and the non variegated Vanilluna father would be the F1 generation, making these albino-like plants the F2 generation. We hope to find some nice selections and move forward properly with Project-V.
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Variation in leaf color arises because of a lack of the green pigment chlorophyll in some of the plant cells. It isn’t an adaptation to the environment, but instead it is usually the result of a cell mutation, and can be inherited (genetic) or occur randomly (chimeric). If genetic, the color change is stable, which means that if you propagate a green shoot from a plant with colored leaves or sow its seed, the coloring will reappear in the new plant. This applies both to green leaves with irregular markings (variegation), say in white and yellow, and to those of a single solid color such as gold or purple.
The idea that the trait could be stable and preserved was very exciting upon reading the above information. Further encouragement came by way of a heated discussion regarding variegation on the Instagram page of @unknowngrower. Many great bits of information came from multiple sources that participated in the debate but we all arrived a final conclusion. This conclusion came by way of the research of @unknowngrower and the answer helped to confirm the previous understanding on variegation provided by Horticulture Magazine. @Unknowngrower was able to contact a former Director at the Smith College who stated, in regards to a description of the variegated Vanilluna:
This information and understanding about the chimera-like nature of the variegated Vanilluna was not only fascinating but also true! After popping 12 seeds produced from the variegated Vanilluna mother plant, 11 of the 12 displayed some form of variegation or albinism. It would seem that, based on the part of the mother plant the seed developed on and the the pattern of that area of development, the seed would possess the specific genetics of that particular part of the plant. The idea of seeds from a chimera has profound implications, especially in regards to genetic diversity and the potential of the progeny. Many of the sprouts looked just like their mother did when she first broke ground.
This Vanilluna F2 sprout looks almost identical to it’s mother at this same stage in her life.
As the seedlings grew, their variegated display became much more pronounced than the their mother and their is a greater manifestation of white/albino parts than in the P1 generation.
These seedlings have since grown and developed some really peculiar expressions. Solid white foliage has become dominant in a few of the seedlings in contrast to the variegation of their mother.
I was surprised to find that two of the seedlings with the most predominate white leaves continued to grow after a month. I didn’t expect them to progress because of their lack of chlorophyll but they are doing well despite those deficiencies.
The two premier plants of the twelve, based on visual appeal, became even more vibrant when they reached the full sun. I noticed that the subtle pink color foreshadowed in new growth and main stalk of the plants became a much deeper fuchsia color when exposed to strong full sun. This cause me to make an association between the color expression and the light intensity which in turn caused me to do some reading. My studies led me to some really good information that corroborated my assertions. Aside from more scholarly sources, High Times even had a fancy article regarding this phenomenon in a 2016 article regarding ‘Anthocyanins‘.
It certainly appears as if the anthocyanins within the plants are responding well to the sunlight in attempts to mitigate the light intensity. Being that the sunlight is bringing out more radiant colors, I hope that this phenotypic expression will be passed on to the next generations. Most High willing, we will be able to move forward with these traits to make more seed stock and get some chemotype test results in order to better understand what we are potentially working with.
If the original Vanilluna parents of DJ Short’s Vanilluna (the P1 mother having been lost) were the P1’s then the variegated Vanilluna mother and the non variegated Vanilluna father would be the F1 generation, making these albino-like plants the F2 generation. We hope to find some nice selections and move forward properly with Project-V.
Share this:
