Environmental abiotic factors like hot weather or water stress that result in an imbalance in plant hormones during flowering can cause phyllody. These can usually be differentiated from phyllody caused by biotic factors by the simultaneous presence of healthy and abnormal flowers. When conditions normalize, the plants resume normal flowering. The susceptibility of plants to environmentally caused phyllody can be genetic. Artificial Phyllody can be artificially induced by applying cytokinins (CK), plant hormones responsible for cell division, as well as apical dominance and axillary bud growth. Conversely, it can be subsequently suppressed with the application of gibberellins (GA), plant hormones responsible for stem elongation, flowering, and sex expression. Related floral teratology Other related floral development abnormalities are: Petalody - The transformation of floral organs (usually the stamens) into petals. Pistillody - The transformation of floral organs into pistils. Sepalody - The transformation of floral organs into sepals or sepal-like bodies. Staminody - The transformation of floral organs into stamens. Phyllody in plant breeding In some cases, the occurrence of phyllody has been utilized in plant breeding. One of the most well known examples is the green rose (Rosa chinensis 'Viridiflora'), an ancient Chinese rose cultivar which exhibits green leafy bracts in tight flower-like clusters. In green rose, artificial selection has enabled phyllody to be expressed as a stable mutation. See also Adventitiousness Epicormic shoot Fasciation References External links Plant pathogens and diseases