Why are the leaves of some plants not green in colour?
Green leaves can be found everywherebut there are otherleavescolours too likeRed,purple, yellow or blue.Colourful leaveswe get tosee because ofdifferent types of pigments present in the leaves.There are basically three primary pigments.High concentration ofChlorophyllin leavesgives it the green colour, Carotenoids gives yellow or yellow-orange andAnthocyanins gives red or purple colour to leaves.Leaves of other colours also containchlorophyllarehidden under the non-green pigments so they can prepare their foods.
Why some leaves are not green?
Let’s know the reason behind the this question, why some plants have different coloured leaves. We will also learn the name of non-green coloured leaves plants and trees.
What is the colour of the leaves? Obviously the answer is green. Normally we see the plants with green leaves around us. But there are also some plants with red, yellow or purple leaves. Generally these types of plants are used as ornamental plants. Different colour of leaves is due to the different types of pigments present in the leaves.
There are three kinds of primary pigments in the plant leaves. These pigments give different colour to the leaves. They are chlorophyll, carotenoids and anthocyanins.
Chlorophyll for Green Colour
Leaves are of green colour due to chlorophyll. Green leaves contain chlorophyll in high concentration. Most of the plant leaves are green.
Carotenoids for Yellow-Orange Colour
The leaves containing carotenoid pigment in high concentration appears yellow or yellow-orange.
Anthocyanins for Red or Purple Colour
When leaves contain high concentration of anthocyanin pigments, the leaves appear red or purple in colour.
We know that chlorophyll is needed to make food in leaves for the plants. But leaves of other colours like red, yellow or purple also contain chlorophyll hidden under the non-green pigments. So non-green leaves also, can make foods for plants, as they contain chlorophyll.
Let’s do an indoor activity and grow plants of different coloured leaves at home.
Names of Plants with Non-green Leaves
- Acalypha wilkesiana (Euphorbiaceae)
- Coleus blumei (Lamiaceae)
- Euphorbia cotinifolia (Euphorbiaceae)
- Iresine herbstii (Amaranthaceae)
- Pseuderanthemum atropurpureum (Acanthaceae)
If you know the name of any other plant with non-green leaves, please do share in comment section. We hope it is interesting read for you. To learn more about plants and other fascinating aspects of universe, visit other articles.
Activity: Grow indoor plants in your room. Learn here about growing indoor plants.
