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I noticed some new growth on my Schlumbergera, and when I looked at it, I found a three cornered stem segment. Is that a disease, a sign of nutrient deficiency, or a genetic defect?

enter image description here

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What does a three cornered stem segment look like? Could you add a picture? – Lisa Jan 6 '12 at 0:38
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@Lisa: A botanical drawing of the cactus can be found on Wikipedia which has stems that split no more then once. – Ambo100 Jan 14 '12 at 15:01
@jmusser Thanks for the photo, but I still don't really understand the question. What would you be expecting? Ambo100's link to a botantcal drawing doesn't really help. – Lisa Jan 15 '12 at 22:38
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The segments are normally flat. with only two wings out from the stem. This segment has three. – jmusser Jan 16 '12 at 2:30

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Developmental abnormality, when the stem was very small some chemical signal got slightly messed up, sometimes maples get three seeds, I had a watermelon with three cotyledons this year... A four leaf clover would be the same sort of thing.

The stem is genetically the same as the stem it was connected to, stems growing from this one will likely be flat.

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