noun
bud sport; bud mutation; bud variation
Botanical term for a spontaneous genetic change in a plant bud, resulting in a shoot with different characteristics from the rest of the plant.
このリンゴの品種は枝変わりから生まれた。
This apple variety originated from a bud sport.
枝変わりによって、花の色が突然変わることがある。
Due to bud mutation, the flower color can suddenly change.
Compound of 枝 (eda, 'branch') and 変わり (kawari, 'change, variation'), literally 'branch variation'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is conventionally used in botany for bud sports.