Observations of Anatomical Aberrations

Occasionally a plant will produce an individual flower, node, inflorescence, leaf, etc, with atypical characteristics. I believe that most of those are developmental aberrations, rather than genetic sports. (Often it's one of the first flowers produced that is aberrant.) Observed aberrations are listed below.

Anisodontea malvastroides

  • a flower with a double epicalyx.
double epicalyx

Anoda cristata

  • a flower with 7 sepals, rather than the usual 5 (cv. 'Silver Cup')
  • a flower with 6 petals, rather than the usual 5 (cv. 'Silver Cup')
Anoda cristate, calyx with 7 sepals
Anoda cristata, 6-petalled flower

Lavatera ×clementii

  • a node with two, opposite, leaves, rather than the usual one (seedling Hinsley 73)
  • nodes with two, opposite, leaves, rather than the usual one, and an inflorescence in each axil (cvs 'Burgundy Wine' and 'Blushing Bride', seedling Hinsley 32)
  • a node with two, fasciculate, flowers, but only a single leaf/bract, the second flower subtended by a fused pair of stipules (cv. 'Blushing Bride')
  • a peduncle bearing two flowers (geminate) rather than the usual one (solitary).
  • flowers with 3 petals rather than the usual 5, and or 3 or 4 sepals rather than the usual 5 (seedling Hinsley 84/B)
  • flowers with 4 petals rather than usual 5 (cvs. 'Burgundy Wine', 'Blushing Bride' and'Rosea', seedlings Hinsley 13, Hinsley 61, Hinsley 72 and Hinsley 82)
  • a flower with a missing petal (most 4-petalled flowers have the petal positions modified so that they're at least usually at least roughly equally spaced; this one had the remaining petals in the normal positions)
  • a flower with 6 bracteoles rather than the usual 3, 8 sepals instead of the usual 5 and 8 petals instead of the usual 5 (seedling Hinsley 84/A).
  • a flower with a spiral epicalyx of 5 bracteoles, diminishing in size, a calyx of 6 sepals, a supernumary half-calyx of 4 sepals, a spiral corolla of 9 petals, and an abortive 10th petal (cv. 'Rosea').
  • foliage with yellow (fading to cream) variegation (cv. 'Barnsley'). This appears to be a genuine genetic sport.
node with two leaves and two flowers
4-petalled flower 3-petalled flower

Lavatera olbia

  • a flower with 4 petals rather than the usual 5 (cv. 'Eyecatcher', seedlings Hinsley 16 and Hinsley 21)
  • a flower with 4 bracteoles, 2 fused and 2 free or nearly so (seedling Hinsley 48)
flower with 4 bracteoles

Lavatera thuringiaca

  • a flower with a bracteole-like bract at the articulation of the pedicel (seedling Hinsley 45/B)
  • a flower with a bracteole-like bract at the articulation of the pedicel, and another between there and the epicalyx (seedling Hinsley 45/B)
 

Lavatera 'White Angel'

  • a flower with 4 petals rather than usual 5
Lavatera 'White Angel', 4-petalled flower

Malva australiana (Lavatera plebeia)

  • a flower with 4 petals rather than the usual 5
4-petalled flower

Malva durieui (Lavatera mauritanica)

  • a flower with 4 sepals rather than the usual 5
 

Malva ×intermedia

  • an epicalyx with 4 bracteoles rather than the usual 3.
 

Malva linnaei (Lavatera cretica)

  • a flower with 4 petals rather than the usual 5
4-petalled flower

Malva moschata

  • flowers with 4 petals rather than the usual 5 (f. alba, f. rosea)
  • flowers with intrapetiolar bracts
four petalled flower
Malva moschata alba, 4-petalled flowers

Malva nicaeensis

  • with a petaloid stamen
 

Malva sylvestris

  • a flower with 4 petals rather than the usual 5 (cv. 'Bibor Felho', strain Hinsley 28, strain Hinsley 60)
  • a flower with 4 bracteoles rather than the usual 3
  • pedicels of fascicle fused (fasciculated) (strain Hardwick s.n.)
 

Malva sylvestris × linnaei

  • a flower with 4 petals rather than the usual 5.
 

Sidalcea candida

  • a flower with 6 petals rather than the usual 5
6 petalled flower

Sidalcea malviflora hort

  • a flower with 4 petals rather than the usual 5 (cv 'Candy Girl')
 

Tilia platyphyllos

  • an inflorescence lacking a bract
  • an inflorescence with an orbicular bract
  • an inflorescence with the bract not fused to the peduncle