During some tree surgery in Stafford, I came across this sycamore branch.
Symptoms of fasciation:
- Flattened shoots - Shoots that appear to be composed of several fused shoots - Flattened elongated or misshapen flower heads with numerous flowers
Fasciation may be caused by:
- Random genetic mutation or disruption - The bacterium Rhodococcus fascians - Viral infection - Damage to the plants by frost, animals (including insects), chemical or mechanical injury even hoeing or forking around the plant have been implicated
Fasciated stems are produced due to abnormal activity in the growing tip of the plant. Often an abnormal number of flowers are produced on affected stems. Normal branches may arise from fasciated stems.
Sam