Plants with patterns

The lighter patches cannot make energy from sunlight, slowing the growth of this plant.

These light pink flowers have deeper blotches of color on the upper two petals.

Areas over the veins do not make the red coloring, or pigment, so they look white.

White marks look like damage done by a leaf-mining insect.

The color-breaking stripes are caused by a viral infection. White spots mimic water damage to protect the leaf against being eaten.

Multicolored plants—also known as variegated plants—are popular with gardeners but are rare in nature. It’s the green parts of the leaves that trap sunlight to harvest its energy, so white or yellow patches slow plant growth down.

Gardeners have cultivated plants with patterned leaves and flowers because they look beautiful. The outlined leaves of the butterfly agave and holly and the attractive flowers of geranium, flamingo lily, and dahlia are very rare

The silvery patches can produce food, too, helping this plant grow.

These spiky leaves are very hardy. The holly plant can grow up to 50 ft (15 m) in height.

produce seeds so small they look like dust.

White patches do not have the ability to make color.

Prayer plant leaves come in many patterns, from mosaic to striped.

Purple-blue flowers are marked with white spots of different sizes and resemble a starry night sky.

Only the tips of this flower make the pink pigment.

in wild plants. In the 17th century, striped tulip flowers were very fashionable in the Netherlands and sold for huge amounts of money. It was later found that the delicate markings on the tulips were actually the result of a viral infection. Angel wings and Virginia waterleaf are among the few plants that have naturally patterned leaves. Both have white spots on their leaves, which make them appear damaged and less appetizing. This greatly reduces the chance of insects eating their leaves.