“Why” and “biology” famously do not get along. The best you can usually do is say it’s evolutionarily advantageous because the true answer is usually a neural network the size of life itself. There are plenty of decent reasons that play parts that we can quibble over, though.
Comment on That's just science
sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
The crazy part is the exact science behind why plants reflect green specifically is still debated. One theory is that, because much of the sun’s energy is released on that wavelength, controlling for it specifically allows the plant to better manage energy fluctuations (highly simplified but you get the idea)
rumba@lemmy.zip 1 month ago
Zorcron@lemmy.zip 1 month ago
Very interesting, thanks for the info!
weilii@lemmy.lacasabien.space 1 month ago
Thank you so much for this comment. I have a graduate degree in plant genetics and I had never been exposed to this before and you just made my whole day by teaching me this!
How do you know so much about photosynthesis?
sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
My partner recently graduated with a horticulture degree and at the time I originally learned this I was a physics major. Photosynthesis was a neat overlap of our fields.
rants_unnecessarily@piefed.social 1 month ago
So why are some plants purple?
Aqivex@fedinsfw.app 1 month ago
Anthocyanins!.
Which curiously enough, can also photosynthesize, and more readily absorb energy from green light than chlorophyll!
Makes me wonder what could be achieved with some careful engineering…
rumba@lemmy.zip 1 month ago
Purple Humans who don’t need to eat.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 1 month ago
there are plenty of purple plants, im guessing certain plants evolved to do this, and most remain green(there also other complicated mechanism like cam, c2,etc.
rants_unnecessarily@piefed.social 1 month ago
That paper talks only about it producing red leaves, or “vermilion” as it calls them.
sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
Wish I knew lol
isleepinahammock@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 month ago
They never got the update.
ignominous_wombat@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
My wife is a horticulturist and she has showed me some plants with sun stress that have turned a reddish purple when they’re not supposed to. Eventually, the plant will die if not given a reprieve.
Maybe there is some sort of adaptation happening where the plants have been trying to survive in a low shade environment for a long time, and being purple helps in some way, so it became permanent. But I am just speculating.
Sirdubdee@piefed.social 1 month ago
Cold nights while growing.