Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves, and sometimes the stems, of plants. This may be due to a number of causes. Some variegation is attractive and ornamental, and gardeners tend to preserve these.
The term is also sometimes used to refer to colour zonation in flowers.
Variegation - Chimeral variegation.
Plants bearing such variegation are chimeras, with more than one type of genetic makeup in their tissues. A lack of chlorophyll producing tissue in some tissues c ...
Plants bearing such variegation are chimeras, with more than one type of genetic makeup in their tissues. A lack of chlorophyll producing tissue in some tissues causes variegation with white or yellow coloured zones on the leaf, contrasting with the usual green tissue. It is due to some of the plant’s meristematic tissue losing the ability to produce chloroplasts, so that the tissue it produces is no longer green.
In a common type of such variegation, the part of the meristem that produces epidermal tissue loses the ability to produ ...
Some variegation is due to visual effects due to reflection of light from the leaf surface. This can happen when an air layer is located just under the epidermis resulting in a white or silvery reflection. It is sometimes called blister variegation. Pilea (aluminum plant) is an example of a house plant that shows this effect. Cyclamen hederifolium leaves show such patterned variegation, varying between plants, but consistent within each plant.
Another type of reflective variegation is caused by hairs on parts of the leaf, which may be coloured differently from the leaf ...
