Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!crdgw1!uunet!mcsun!ukc!harrier.ukc.ac.uk!mnl
From: mnl@ukc.ac.uk (M.N.Leonard)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Cancer in plants?
Message-ID: <7412@harrier.ukc.ac.uk>
Date: 24 Apr 91 13:21:03 GMT
References: <3442@beguine.UUCP>
Reply-To: mnl@ukc.ac.uk (M.N.Leonard)
Organization: Computing Lab, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.
Lines: 23

In article <3442@beguine.UUCP> rhunt@med.unc.edu (Rick Hunt) writes:
>Several days ago on the way to work I saw a strange growth on a tree.  It
>had what looked like dozens of twigs growing from one spot.  At first I
>thought it was a bird's nest, but it started sprouting leaves with the
>arrival of spring.  Then I started to wonder if it would be a kind of cancer.
>So now it is stupid question time:  Do plants get cancer?  If they do,
>what does it look like?
>
>Rick Hunt
>rhunt@med.unc.edu


     I may be wrong but I thought that "Callusses" were cancerous
growths on plants if this is correct then yes they are very common.
However, I'm not sure if the term "cancer" is correct because it is 
very difficult to envision any form of metastasis occurring. Hope this
helps.

Mike Leonard
University of Kent at Canterbury
Kent
U.K.
mnl@ukc.ac.uk