why some plants have red leaves
Answers
Heyy mate,
Answer:
Some parasitic plants lack chlorophyll entirely and steal the products of photosynthesis from their green hosts, said Susan K. Pell, director of science at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Other plants, like a red-leafed tree, have plenty of chlorophyll, but the molecule is masked by another pigment.
Chlorophyll absorbs red and blue light,
“reflecting, and thus appearing, green,” Dr. Pell said. Chlorophyll uses this electromagnetic energy, along with carbon dioxide and water, to make glucose and oxygen.
Most plants also have other pigments: carotenoids, which usually appear yellow to orange, and anthocyanins, which are red to purple. One pigment usually dominates. So a plant with red leaves probably has higher than usual amounts of anthocyanins, Dr. Pell said. But chlorophyll is still present and at work.
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