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Freaky Dandilions

Nosi

Illuminator
Nosi
Joined
Jun 14, 2009
Messages
3,164
It is one year and one month after the quake and tsunami that shook Japan to its core then caused the biggest Nuclear mess unknown since Chernobyl.

This appears to be the spring of the mutants, or at least mutant dandelions. They are popping up in Tokyo. :jaw-dropp The buggers are popping up in the USA and Canada too. They aren't the only plant gone bonkers but they are certainly the most prolific.

Gardeners, is this a new phenominon as the more fearful on the web believe or is this just weeds being weedy adaptable plants that get around?
 
Looks more like it has a parasitic infestation.
 
Hey, yeah...let's take an isolated picture, draw massive, unwarranted conclusions with no real scientific evidence whatsoever, and then proclaim the end of the world! (Not to OP...just to those claiming it's evidence of some sort of planetary nuclear contamination).

When I was a kid, growing up in Canada, we had one summer where we discovered a whole bunch of dandelions like this, all over our village. Most had four or five dandelion heads fused together, but I found one that had about 15 heads fused together (even took it to show-and-tell).

We did not live near any nuclear reactors. The 'mutant' dandelions lasted for about one month, and then disappeared...we never saw them again that year, or any subsequent years (apart from the occasional two or three-headed dandelion, which isn't that unusual).

Our science teacher told us that, in certain unusual weather conditions, dandelions will grow like that. I have no idea whether it's true or not, but it seems a more reasonable explanation, at least without further evidence.
 
That these are in the US and Canada, too, suggests it has nothing to do with radiation. Anything that could cause that here, this fast, would pretty much have wiped out Japan. It would be like having a huge explosion and things a thousand miles apart take the same amount of damage.
 
That's an interestingly freakish plant. I cannot see how this would have been caused by radiation from Fukushima, but I would like to thank the OP for getting me to finally look up the weird pseudodandelion plant that I've been wondering about for the last 3 years (since I bought my current house.) It's catsear, for anyone who cares, aka false dandelion. A very pretty, pale yellow or dark orange version of a dandelion, with multiple flower heads per stalk. Otherwise it looks very very similar to a standard dandelion. Gotta love convergent evolution.
 
I don't find any images of catsear showing a fat stem.



Not saying I think radiation has anything to do with the OP image, mind you.
 
Wolfman said:
Our science teacher told us that, in certain unusual weather conditions, dandelions will grow like that. I have no idea whether it's true or not, but it seems a more reasonable explanation, at least without further evidence.
Click to expand...

There was a story on the local news recently where I guy found masses of four and five leaf clovers. The expert said it could be caused by unusual temperature change too.
 
The things you find on Google looking for "fat stemmed dandelion": Fascinating Fasciation
Every once in a while the normal growth pattern of a plant goes awry, producing an interesting “mistake” that can be attractive and ornamental, or ugly, bizarre, or humorous. This physiological disorder, called fasciation, can occur in almost any plant part, but is most noticeable in the stems or inflorescences.
Click to expand...
There are some really great pics in the article. The cacti are the best.


Here are some more.

Ooo, this is fun.
 
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Careyp74 said:
There was a story on the local news recently where I guy found masses of four and five leaf clovers. The expert said it could be caused by unusual temperature change too.
Click to expand...

Hundreds of plants are on the freak. There are conjoined apples, pansies, roses with multitudes of buds bursting from the petals, and strawberry beds where the normal is the unusual.

Mama Earth's off her Prozac
 
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