@fffffffff Those plants differ from colour in their leaves not only because of Virus,it can also be the factors determining that particular area like Temperature and sometimes the pigments of the leaves.It also depends where the plant has grown right ?
You’re right, the deadnettle was a typo.
Perhaps the squirrels prefer the phytonutrients in the rainbow of fruit and veg we are encouraged to eat. I wonder if there is a difference in nutritional value between red and white varieties of strawberry?
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Squirrels can distinguish red from other colours, so they most likely know that ripe fruit is not white from their experience, from what I could Google they eat wild Fragaria in “normal” forest conditions too, so they have to have the system similar to what primates have (even though primates have different available colour scheme).
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I am thinking of people, why they would choose white fruit.
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People are weirdos, if they get a chance to select something, they’ll do that. :D
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To fool squirrels, of course.
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Taken as a whole humans do like variety and novelty. Although we also like familiar things. My husband has only recently started eating purple potatoes with me. They are more nutritious than plain white potatoes. Although I admit to serving them to see his reaction, not because I needed the anthocyanin in them. I’m very good about eating blueberries whenever I can.
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After cooking, is a purple potato still purple? Apparently purple broccoli cooks to the usual green.
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Yes, the purple baking potatoes were still purple/blue after being baked. But my favorite shade of purple vegetable is the purple sweet potato. Purple sweet potato pie is so delicious and pretty. However, the red okra I’m currently growing turns back to green when cooked.
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I see that I’ve gotten off topic from naturally occurring variegated plants in the wild to unusual vegetable and fruit colors.
I wonder if boldly variegated leaves can sometime direct winged pollinators to find otherwise insignificant flowers. Like marking a landing strip at the airport.
Well, flowers are much more visible for insects because of lightwaves we don’t see, from home plants we see variegated forms in those plants that already have big or even huge leaves, so maybe that’s why they can live with that better than others?
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I’d agree that plants with bigger leaves have enough surface area for photosynthesis that they can spare some of the leaf area for other purposes hence the variegation. (As a general rule plants with larger leaves will be shade plants or understory plants.) Others have already observed wild plants in the shade frequently express the trait.
This one is naturally variegated (also comes in plain green)
Small leaves, slightly succulent.
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/600776-Plectranthus-madagascariensis-madagascariensis/browse_photos
I would say they’re not that smal having wide leaf blades, and white to green ratio is good enough for it to survive, it looks as a similar pattern to what Coleus shows, right? Could family somehow affect it? (I know it has more pigments in major play, but still, it’s intriguing)
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When I click I only see “inactive taxon” and no photos :(
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Curators have been very efficient - and sorted that taxon swop overnight!
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1278884-Coleus-madagascariensis/browse_photos
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I do not know if this qualifies as truly variegated, but there are rare albino growths at the base of some redwood trees. And, sometimes, the albino growth is variegated. A speculation is the albino growth may benefit the parent tree by sequestering heavy metals (from pollution).
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Neat! I’ll be on the look out for other tree examples.