A particular observation made by Goethe in this respect is of interest
for methodological reasons. In the introduction to his treatise
Metamorphosis of Plants, when referring to the regressive metamorphosis
of stamens into petals as an example of an irregular metamorphosis, he
remarks that 'experiences of this kind of metamorphosis will enable us
to disclose what is hidden from us in the regular way of development,
and to see clearly and visibly what we should otherwise only be able to
infer'. In this remark Goethe expresses a truth that is valid in many
spheres of life, both human and natural. It is frequently a
pathological aberration in an organic entity that allows us to see in
physical appearance things that do not come outwardly to the fore in
the more balanced condition of normal development, although they are
equally part of the regular organic process.

An enlightening experience of this kind came to Goethe's aid when one
day he happened to see a 'proliferated' rose (durchgewachsene Rose),
that is, a rose from whose centre a whole new plant had sprung. Instead
of the contracted seed-pod, with the attached, equally contracted,
organs of fertilization, there appeared a continuation of the stalk,
half red and half green, bearing in succession a number of small
reddish petals with traces of anthers. Thorns could be seen appearing
further up, petals half-turned into leaves, and even a number of fresh
nodes from which little imperfect flowers were budding. The whole
phenomenon, in all its irregularity, was one more proof for Goethe that
the plant in its totality is potentially present at each point of its
organism.5

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