Mutant Daisies Growing Near Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Site Go Viral [Pics]
The unnerving image of what are being dubbed “mutant daisies” has gone viral and could show the aftermath of the nuclear disaster that befell the area four years ago.
The oddly shaped flowers, found growing near the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, were shot by Twitter user @Sain_Kaidu who lives in the city of Nasushiobara, which is located around 68 miles from the notorious power plant.
The translated tweet tells how the flora in the radioactive vicinity have been impacted by the 2011 meltdown of three of Fukushima's six nuclear reactors. As reported in Fukushima Diary, the tweet describes how the right daisy "split into 2 stems to have 2 flowers connected each other, having 4 stems of flower tied beltlike" and how the left one "has 4 stems grew up to be tied to each other and it had the ring-shaped flower."
Aside from these strange flowers, deformed fruit have been seen growing within the area for some time now. Despite this, Japanese officials have, according to the Weather Network, classified the area as safe for "medium to long-term" habitation.
However mutated the daisies appear, what they are actually afflicted with is a rare condition called "cresting." Although rare, this mutation has been spotted in daisies in other areas that have not been necessarily exposed to any radiation.
Taking radiation out of the equation, possible causes for this phenomena include hormonal or genetic defects, and bacterial or fungal infection.
But judging from way the fauna in the area has registered radiation, the meltdown is likely a big part of the mutation.
In 2013, the Daily Mail reported that a fish caught close to the Fukushima nuclear plant was over 2,500 times the legally safe radiation limit allowed for seafood. Researchers now believe that deposits of the chemical cesium, caused by reactor cores melting and spew radiation into the ocean, will threaten fisheries for decades to come.
You can see more photos of the daisies below:
@rayon_violet 他の写真もお送りします。アブ(?)との比較で大体検討がつくかと思います。花は直径7~8cmぐらいになります。 pic.twitter.com/Xhg5HL7pw9
— 三悔堂 (@san_kaido) June 21, 2015
近所(那須塩原市)のお宅のマーガレットの帯化と言う現象 4つの花茎が横に繋がったまま成長し,左の茎は途中で2つに別れ,右は4つがそのまま帯状に繋がった花になります。 一種の奇形ですが空間線量0.5μSv地点と言うのが気になっています。 pic.twitter.com/tVu0k1fwrs — 三悔堂 (@san_kaido) May 10, 2015
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