How does photosynthesis take place on plants that have red, brown or yellow leaves?

Question

Some ornamental plants like croton and coleus and red sea weed have leaves which are not green.How do they prepare food?

Answer 1

They still possess chlorophyll, but there are more chromoplasts in the leaves than chloroplasts, and therefore the leaves don't appear green.

Answer 2

They will still contain the chlorophyll a and b but they will be broken down and there is a much larger concentration of chromoplasts, which synthesize and store pigments such as orange carotenes, yellow xanthophylls and various other red pigments; as such, their colour varies depending on what pigment they contain.

For example in Autumn the leaves contain modified chlorophyll a and they also contain chlorophyll b and β-carotenoids. The chlorophyll pigments both are broken down and this leads to a higher concentration of β-carotenoids which give the leaves their distinct yellow/orange colour. The β carotenoids absorb blue/violet (the complementary colours) wavelengths of light and reflect yellow/orange light.

Answer 3

Pigment chlorophyll is not the only pigment present in leaves.

        

         there are some ACESSORY PIGMENTS also . that are:

1) chlorophyll b&c

2) xanthophylls

3) carotinoids

4) phycobilins

      &few more.

          chlorophyll a - the main pigment found almost all plants.

& they absorb green component of light giving green colour to leaves.

            

          chlorophyll b,c - absorb yellow-green light,so leaves r not as green , so leaves look purpel , red or blue.

          carotenoids - absorb blue&blue-green light , so leaves looks yellow , orange or red or brown.

         acessory pigments in green plants help trap more light.

      if chlorophyll a is not present , these act as main pigment .

                  SEAWEEDS  -  in deep sea where there is not much light available only the RED OR BLUE component of light can penetrate &reach to the deep sea plants , which is absorbed by PHYCOERYTHRIN  component of phycobilins .

        

          Therefore, because of these acessory pigments we see diff. color of plants &that is how they are able to photosynthesis .

Answer 4

the photosynthesis is not the dominate but the recessive but it is still there