Why some plants are purple?
Purple leaves are usually caused by a pigment called anthocyanin. Anthocyanin absorbs green and yellow light, causing them to appear deep red or purple to our eye. These leaves still contain chlorophyll, or else they couldn't photosynthesise, but the green colouration is masked by the strong anthocyanin pigmentation.
However, some plants have a lot of compounds called anthrocyanins which can be red or purple in color. If a plant has enough anthrocyanins, the purple will block out the green color even though the chlorophyll is still there.
Purple pigments on the underside of leaves in rainforest plants help maximize light absorption through reflecting light back up int the leaf. through reflecting light back up int the leaf.
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.
The earliest life on Earth might have been just as purple as it is green today, a scientist claims. Ancient microbes might have used a molecule other than chlorophyll to harness the Sun's rays, one that gave the organisms a violet hue.
These colors are made up of pigments and, generally speaking, the fewer the pigments, the lighter the color. The most common pigments in flowers come in the form of anthocyanins. These pigments range in color from white to red to blue to yellow to purple and even black and brown.
Why are some plants not green? Though plants are generally thought to be green, there are some that are not. If a plant appears another color, such as red, it is not necessarily because the plant does not contain chlorophyll. Other pigments may cover up the green pigment, making the plant appear a different color.
Answer. When leaves contain high concentration of anthocyanin pigments, the leaves appear red or purple in colour. 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.
The surface of the leaves on the upper row of the top photo looks greener than the leaves on the bottom row because they contain more chlorophyll – more sunlight is trapped by the upper surface than the bottom surface. Plants that have other colors contain pigments that trump the chlorophyll.
Wandering Jew (Tradescantia zebrina)
Also called spiderwort plant, the wandering Jew is a tropical houseplant that can be identified by its lance-shaped purple and green striped leaves.
