Why do flower leaves have different colors?

The leaves of flowers come in a wide variety of colors. Today I will share with you why flower leaves have different colors.

The color of flower leaves is mainly determined by plant pigments contained in the leaf cells, such as chlorophyll, xanthophyll, carotenoids, and anthocyanins. Chlorophyll a is blue-green, and chlorophyll b is yellow-green. Because their content in the chloroplasts of different flowers varies, some leaves appear dark green, while others appear light green or grass green.

Carotenoids are the pigment source that makes leaves appear orange, anthocyanins are the pigment source that makes leaves appear red and blue, and xanthophyll is the pigment source that makes leaves appear yellow. The epidermal cells of the leaves of the vast majority of flowers contain only chlorophyll, so the leaves mostly appear green. Green is the basic color of plant leaves, but on closer observation there are differences such as tender green, light green, bright green, deep green, yellow-green, reddish green, brownish green, blue-green, ink green, and dark green. Some flowers, however, have epidermal leaf cells that contain large amounts of pigments such as carotenoids, anthocyanins, and xanthophyll, or have a very high content in a certain part of the leaf, thus forming colored leaves.

For example, foliage flowers such as red-leaf cordyline and red-leaf beet contain anthocyanins in their mesophyll cells, so the entire leaf appears red;

The leaves of nandina, red mulberry, and others synthesize more chlorophyll under weak light, and synthesize more carotenoids and anthocyanins under strong light or low-temperature conditions, so when cultivated in semi-shade the leaf color turns green, while when maintained under strong light or in spring and autumn, the leaves appear purplish red or orange-red;

In the leaves of golden-edged spider plant and golden-edged agave, the cells in different parts of the leaf respectively contain chlorophyll and xanthophyll, so the leaves show two colors, yellow and green alternating.

In addition, for foliage plants such as croton, whose leaves have multiple colors, the leaves display a variety of colors, and the reasons are all the same.

Similarly, the color change of fruit is also the result of pigment changes. When the fruit is young, the green color of the peel is mainly caused by chlorophyll. As the fruit ripens, the chlorophyll content decreases and carotenoids and anthocyanins increase, thus making the fruit appear yellow, orange-red, or red.