A condition in plants grown in darkness or insufficient light, characterized by pale yellow color, elongated stems, small leaves, and weak structure. Etiolated plants stretch toward any available light source.
From French 'étioler' meaning 'to blanch' or 'to make pale,' originally from 'éteule' meaning 'stubble.' The botanical term was adopted in the 19th century to describe the pale, stretched appearance of light-starved plants.
Etiolation is a plant's desperate search for light! When kept in darkness, plants will sacrifice everything - color, strength, even normal leaf development - to grow as tall as possible, gambling that they'll eventually reach sunlight before they exhaust their energy reserves.
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