What is this thing?

[orchid527]

The plant is a cross of Yellow Tiger x Wellesleyanum. About 4 months ago a thin, thread-like growth began to emerge from the center of the plant. It is currently about 40 mm long with a diameter of about 1-2 mm. The end is slightly darker and is about 7 mm long with a diameter of 2 mm. It seems to be healthy and is growing slowly. My guess is that this is some kind of mutant flower spike, but I've never seen anything like this before on any of my slippers. Mike

 

[troy]

It's the beginning of a bulldog hahaha, very strange!!

 

[Ozpaph]

mutant flower spike without a bud

 

[SlipperFan]

Green snake. The beginning of Medusa.

 

[abax]

It's a tad spooky, don't you think? Sort of looks like it forgot something...like a bud maybe.

 

[NYEric]

A spike with the tip broken off.

 

[orchid527]

Something may have broken off very early in the development of this growth, but under magnification the end of it currently looks clean and healthy. It does look like the end is beginning to differentiate into non-spike? Mike

 

[Happypaphy7]

This has to be the most bizarre deformity! lol
This sort of hybrids are often messed up in various ways anyway as many people know.

Deformed flowers, if they ever flower, deformed leaves...in this case a spike with no head.

Keep us posted. Who knows, the end might turn into a small plant eventually, or a tiny ugly flower.

 

[gonewild]

It looks like a deformed leaf to me. If it were a spike the stem should have hairs?
It's hard to tell in the picture but the tip looks like a leaf tip with the edges fused together making it look like a flower sheath or bud.

If what I have said is accurate then it is probably caused by a hormonal imbalance at the time the leaf was being formed. If you cut it off look and see if it is hollow or solid inside.