I’ve probably seen a thousand flowers of B. rapa, and this is the first I’ve seen with more than four petals. This may be an underwhelming mutation in the grand scheme of things, but it’s the first I’ve observed in a sample that I was personally monitoring!
Anyone know of some interesting reading on this type of mutation?
by KittensnettiK
3 Comments
No quinque shaming.
If its progeny also does it, it might be genetic, but I’d guess not. It appears to be the first flower formed, and they often get a bit confused. When that flower bud was initiated, the shoot apex is undergoing massive changes, including switching from indeterminate to determinate growth (floral meristems become carpal organs rather than continuing to initiate more organs/floral buds). Is that flower subtended by a cauline leaf? If so, it was supposed to become an indeterminate inflorescence, but made a flower instead and the extra meristem grew out as extra organs.
You could grow a mutant colony of mustard if you’re right about it being a mutation 🧪