# Variegated vanilla leaves completely lacking pigmentation



## AdamD (Mar 16, 2014)

Has anyone else encountered this? I have a cutting from the Missouri Botanical Garden's vanilla planifolia variegateata. A new branch is completely yellow, no green whatsoever. It is very slow growing and the leaves are small, maybe an inch and a half in length. I don't have a picture (posting pics is such a drawn out process with a slow Internet connection...). But the rest of the plant is growing in it's normal fashion. What's the deal? Mutation?


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## Erythrone (Mar 16, 2014)

It is fairly common for some varigated plants (hostas, hoyas) to produce some "all-white/cream/yellow" leaves. Some clones are more stalbe than others. I guess it is the same thing for orchids. This is not really a mutation.


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## jtrmd (Mar 16, 2014)

Mine did it when the vine reached the top of the GH, and the leaves growing in the high light area lacked any variegation.


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## PaphMadMan (Mar 16, 2014)

A plant with this kind of variegation is known as a chimera, after the creature in Greek mythology that combined parts of 3 different animals in one. Two or more genetically distinct types of cells are wrapped up together and growing in a way that may not be entirely stable. 

In this case there are normal green cells, and un-green cells that have lost their chloroplasts or their ability to make chlorophyll. Where both cell types exist in the meristem (growth point of the plant) the plant continually makes a mixture of green and white tissues that we see as bands of color throughout the plant, but there is a certain amount of chance involved that both tissue types will grow in proportion in the meristem and maintain the pattern. 

Just by chance, or any time a branch comes from a node that is lacking one cell type or the other, you can get all-green or all-white shoots. Since the all-white ones can't photosynthesize they are dependent on sugars transported from other parts of the plant, and they tend to be slow growing and small, and may not persist for very long. All-green shoots are more vigorous and can over-grow the variegated parts of the plant. 

Whatever happened in the first place to cause the un-green cells may have been a mutation, but there is no new mutation involved when you happen to get an all-white or all-green shoot from such a chimera.


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## lepetitmartien (Mar 16, 2014)

It's known to vanilla, it can reverse to variegata or normal or not. It's a reversible mutation.

The unpigmented bit will be slow… And won't do much. Unpigmented vanilla (totally) will die.


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## AdamD (Mar 16, 2014)

Wow, thanks all! I had no idea. It was subjected to high light when the new shoot emerged. Really the whole division isn't doing stellar. Just a novelty at the moment. It's years and years from blooming. 

The genetics and biology of variegation is very intriguing. I appreciate the info!


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## Ozpaph (Mar 18, 2014)

Very well presented PaphMadMan. Thanks.


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## NYEric (Mar 18, 2014)

Photos?


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## AdamD (Mar 18, 2014)

Ehhh it's such a pain. This weekend I will.


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## NYEric (Mar 19, 2014)

Thanks


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## lepetitmartien (Mar 21, 2014)

AdamD said:


> It was subjected to high light when the new shoot emerged. Really the whole division isn't doing stellar.
> It's years and years from blooming.


If there was lots of UVs, it may have triggered the button.

Now, under our conditions, that much light won't be an issue, on the contrary. Well at least if it's in good warm/wet/feeded conditions. Variegated are always slower, as they have a lot of unproductive areas that need maintenance but don't help.


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## AdamD (Mar 23, 2014)

Here it is, as promised. Not a very big guy. Sorry for the quality


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## NYEric (Mar 23, 2014)

Sell it as semi-alba on eBay! :evil:
Thanx.


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## AdamD (Mar 23, 2014)

Nah I kinda like it. Although the thought did cross my mind :evil:


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## NYEric (Mar 23, 2014)

$200,000 yen! 
If you ever want to trade it...


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## AdamD (Mar 23, 2014)

I'm pretty sure Windy Hill has divisions of the mother plant for pretty cheap. Then all you have so do is slow cook it for a few months, add some bright light and voila! Albino growth! DIY Vanilla mutation!


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## NYEric (Mar 24, 2014)

I have a variegated Vanilla planifolia but it has no pure white parts like that! I'll give you $20 and a pack of Bazooka bubble gum!


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## lepetitmartien (Mar 24, 2014)

It's not variegata, it's albomarginata I guess. (seriously)

And albomarginata with very large margins.


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## AdamD (Mar 24, 2014)

NYEric said:


> I have a variegated Vanilla planifolia but it has no pure white parts like that! I'll give you $20 and a pack of Bazooka bubble gum!



Man you are really after this thing huh? Does the bazooka bubblegum have a comic inside the wrapper?

Joking aside, from what I understand the pigmentless part of the plant is very weak and almost parasitic to the rest of the plant... I don't know why I haven't cut it off by now... I guess because it's unique. And I'm a sucker for unique plants. But at what cost?


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## AdamD (Mar 24, 2014)

lepetitmartien said:


> It's not variegata, it's albomarginata I guess. (seriously)
> 
> And albomarginata with very large margins.



I do thank you for your input on this subject. Your wealth of knowledge on this is something I envy. Have you ever seen growths like this bloom? Or even survive for long periods of time? Is it worth keeping it a part of the plant? Or is it basically parasitic?


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## lepetitmartien (Apr 1, 2014)

I've read about this as the variegata change is a known trait. And I've read on one forum about the same "albino" change on a seedling.

As it has no chlorophyl activity, it depends entirely on the rest of the plant for sugars. You can call it improperly parasitic but it's the same plant, so it's not. It has only a branch very impaired. As long as the plant can furnish enough sugars to support the branch, it's fine. But at one point, the balance may be broken and if so, the vanilla will "make some choices." (It's not conscious so I'm being anthropomorphic)

You can wait until it hypothetically move back to a chlorophyl ON state, or cut the offender to help the rest move on. I'd cut, it "feeds on" the rest and drags it behind with a "dead weight", and you can't tell when or if it'll reverse to some variegated state or normal.


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## NYEric (Apr 2, 2014)

It is a beauty!


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## lepetitmartien (Apr 3, 2014)

Alba is for flowers, on leaves it's deadly…


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