Fasciations are a malformation of a plant’s anatomical parts, which may be likened to a cancer or a somatic mutation (1). In the process of becoming fasciated, the plant stem undergoes rapid growth along one plane to form a fan-shaped structure. The result of this accelerated growth is a new growth on the stem, which may weigh ten to fifty times more than the new growth on a normal stem. The rapid growth in fas-ciated stems appears to be uncontrolled and may affect thecomposition of the secondary metabolites pre-sent in that organ. Because fasciation does not occur in all the stems on a single plant, a comparison of the alkaloids of fasciated and normal stems from the same plant would indicate whetherthere are qualitative and/or quantitative differences between the two stem types. Genetic, seasonal, and population variability would not be encountered. Any difference noted in the alkaloid composition would, therefore, be attri-buted solely to the fasciation phenomenon.