Thale cress, or Arabidopsis thaliana, is a model organism, which basically makes it the lab rat of the plant world.
Even if you're not a plant scientist, you probably know what thale cress looks like.
In the science world, it's been a fabulous plant genetics workhorse for decades. A.
As you can see below, it's not super easy to miss – but it's rare, and you're unlikely to see cantils on the thale cress you see on the side of the road.
But it turns out that cantils weren't created from a mutation or contamination; instead, cantils only form at the time the plant begins to flower, and only after the plant has been delayed flowering in the first place – usually due to short days.