variegation

English

Variegation in holly leaves

Etymology

variegate +‎ -ion

Noun

variegation (countable and uncountable, plural variegations)

1. (botany) A variation in the colour of different zones of the same plant.
   • 1878, The Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, volume 27, page 509:

     The variegation of leaves occurs so commonly that we do not often inquire into the cause of it. To the physiologist, however, the question of the origin of variegation is of considerable importance, and it certainly is not less so to the horticulturist, whether pleasure or profit be the main end of his endeavors.

   • 2014, Ulrich Lüttge, Wolfram Beyschlag, Progress in Botany, Springer (→ISBN), page 244:

     The second and related type of white variegation is formed by the formation of a single loose layer of short palisade cells instead of a compact layer or two of long palisade cells in the green sectors of variegated leaves (La Rocca et al. 2011).

2. The state of being variegated; streaked, spotted.

Further reading

• variegation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “variegate”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.