(no subject)
Kay.Klier@uni.edu
Mon, 06 Feb 1995 16:50:50 -0600 (CST)
Ronnie wrote:
> I too have seen _P. caerulea_ flowering white in the wild.
>I mentioned this to a friend who grows pings and he also said he had never
>seen a white flowered _P. caerulea_. Could this be possibly a mutant that
>has not yet been described? If so what are the chances of producing a
>white flowered version in a natural population. Just a thought.
The mutation from colored to white flowers is probably the most common
color mutation in flowers: white flowers to colored flowers would be
much more "difficult", and therefore rarer.
Floral pigments are produced by a chain of biochemical reactions, and
a mutation in any of the enzymes responsible can stop pigment production,
giving white flowers.
Kay Klier klier@cobra.uni.edu