“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 2 months 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 2 months ago
Zorcron@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
Very interesting, thanks for the info!
weilii@lemmy.lacasabien.space 2 months 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 2 months 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 2 months ago
So why are some plants purple?
Aqivex@fedinsfw.app 2 months 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 2 months ago
Purple Humans who don’t need to eat.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 months 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 2 months ago
That paper talks only about it producing red leaves, or “vermilion” as it calls them.
sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 2 months ago
Wish I knew lol
isleepinahammock@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 months ago
They never got the update.
ignominous_wombat@lemmy.ml 2 months 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 2 months ago
Cold nights while growing.