Another unusual color form — this time of a California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica). Note the very pale yellow coloration, rather than the intense orange more typical of this species or the bi-colored petals (yellow petals with orange bases) of coastal California Poppies (for an example, see the post called "Cup of gold"). I read one article that describes how this pale coloration in California Poppies has a genetic basis, i.e., a genetic mutation that impacts the production of carotenoids (responsible for orange pigments).
Photographed in northern Sonoma County on 24 April 2022.
Bill's comment (submitted under the previous post):
ReplyDelete"So glad to see the cream-colored poppy. I saw one in a front yard in Petaluma, surrounded by golden poppies. It was even more white. I felt sure it was a poppy, but no one I spoke to had heard of a light-colored variant."
Hi, Bill!
It sounds like the mechanism behind the pale variants was figured out fairly recently. Here's an open access research paper about it:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-48122-3
and a more general description of the discovery:
https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2019/08/14/father-son-duo-find-genetic-mishap-behind-rare-white-california-poppies/
Best,
Jackie