All species show variations, but I think those differences
are most noticed when they deal with color.
Every year I find a few plants with flowers displaying white petals
instead of their normal hue. These two
diminutive Rose Pink plants were growing side-by-side; one with white petals
and the other with standard pink petals.
This species produces a few white petaled individuals each year.
The dry prairies are filled with Hairy Small-leaved Tick
Trefoils with their long stalks of lavender blossoms. I shouldn’t have to point out the obvious
face showing in each bloom.
One lone plant is producing stalks of white flowers. From a distance, the white blossoms are much
easier to see.
Sadly, the face is not nearly as evident in the white
flowers.
The Wild Petunia regularly displays petals in varying shades
of blue and lavender, but the differences are not enough for the casual
observer to notice.
When the Wild Petunia shows itself in white, the blossom
stands out from the crowd. As a manager
of wild plant populations, I enjoy seeing these variations. A wide range of genetic choices is an
indicator of a healthy population and makes that population more resilient and
able to survive environmental changes.
Flower color may mean little to the future survival of a species, but
these visible signs of genetic diversity suggest that there is also much
genetic variation present that is not so easily detected.
