This is called a chimera, named after the monster from Greek mythology which had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a snake. In biology, a chimera is an organism which has groups of cells that are genetically different, just as the mythical monster was made up of parts of different animals.. In your body, your skin cells have the same DNA as your muscle cells, and your nerve cells, etc. In this plant, one branch has a layer of cells that is genetically different. Instead of producing chloroplasts that are filled with chlorophyll (which is green) to carry out photosynthesis, the leaves on this branch are producing chloroplasts that are white, and do not contain chlorophyll.

Since only the cells in certain layers of that branch contain the mutant DNA, the seeds from this plant would not produce variegated plants. To start a variegated strain of this plant, you would need to cut part of the affected branch and root it. That would work for the partially variegated branch on the right, but not for the entirely yellow branch. Why? The partially variegated branch still has some chlorophyll to produce food, although not as much as an unvarigated plant. A cutting from the branch with all yellow leaves would not be able to produce any food, and it would die. This branch is surviving off food that it gets from the normal leaves on the plant.