It almost looks like it was grafted or something. Does anyone know what’s going on?

  • Doombot1@lemmy.one
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    5 months ago

    Yes! The other comments are incorrect. This is a condition known as reversion. These trees are actually a mutation of a typical conifer, known aptly as a “dwarf conifer”. Mutations are oftentimes unstable, and can revert back to their original form - that’s what has happened to this tree. One of the branches (or multiple, potentially) have reverted and it’s actually growing a normal-size conifer on those branches now. Kinda neat! But can also be very bad for the tree.

    More info can be found here: https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1602

    Similar things can happen with variegation in leaves (reversion, that is).

    • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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      5 months ago

      Imagine if this happened with people. Like they were born with dwarfism but then one arm just grew to full normal size

      • lugal@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        I saw a documentary about a woman whose arms didn’t stop growing. It was a mutation but only in her arms so it happened during embryonic development in the cells that develop into arms