Fasciation Of Lily

This appears to us to be a fasciated stem of either a lily or an alstroemeria. Was this from a florist bouquet? It looks like an example of fasciation, which occurs in many plants randomly. Although we’ve put it in the category of “disease” on this form it is not – it’s a physiological disorder. In fact, there is no one clear reason why some plants become fasciated although it’s thought that chemicals, mechanical damage, bacteria, viruses, phytoplasmas, or feeding by insects can all trigger this odd growth. On florist flowers the suspect is often over-application of chemicals used in that industry. Fasciation doesn’t spread from plant to plant and there is not any reliable way to promote it, so it’s not possible to “breed” a group of plants that always have interesting odd growth. Sometimes fasciated plants are really ugly and over-distorted, while other times the growth is humorous and cool looking.