The Scarlet Pimpernel, Wolfgang von Goethe and one of the smallest living organism

It was an accidental discovery while I was looking for early flowering wildflowers at the beginning of January. I spotted a few Scarlet Pimpernels flowing in my garden and picked one to photograph. Only when I looked through the camera's viewfinder did I notice something unusual. Where the stamens and pistil should have been, small leaves were to be seen.

Normal Scarlet Pimpernel Flower

My not so normal Scarlet Pimpernel Flower

This phenomena was observed in roses by the German writer and polymath, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and he named it, Metamorphosis. Today it is usually known as Phyllody (leaf like) and it is generally caused by infections although adverse environmental conditions may also cause an imbalance in a plant's hormones producing the same effect.

With this plant flowering so early environmental stresses could be a possible cause. However Scarlet Pimpernel is also a known host for aster yellows phytoplasma. This disease can infect over 300 species in 38 families of herbaceous plants, symptoms are variable and include phyllody.

Phytoplasma are one of the smallest living organisms and cannot be seen through an optical microscope nor can they be cultured like many other types of bacteria. Little wonder that they were not discovered until 1967 by Japanese Scientists.

If the phyllody in the flower was caused by a disease it was mostly likely infected by a sap sucking insect such as a leafhopper. Interestingly the phytoplasma in the sap once ingested by a female leafhopper can extend the insect's lifespan and increase the number of eggs it lays. While this benefits the insect it also increases the opportunities for the bacteria to infect other plants. 

An unusual start to year to be sure, I had not seen anything like it before or heard of Phyllody. I will keep my eye on this patch of pimpernels during the spring to see if I can see any recurrences.