Why are plants different shades of green?
have you 🫵 ever wondered why plants are all different greens? We learned back in the day that plants are green because of chlorophyll. However, you might not know that there are multiple types of chlorophyll, along with other pigments that make plants all different kinds of green.
For one, chlorophyll A and B absorb lots of red and blue light. Chlorophyll A leans more on the red side of that absorption, meaning the green it reflects leans more blue/ teal. Chlorophyll B is the opposite and results in a yellow green color. (theses are just the main two there is also C1 C2 D and F, with chlorophyll C being found in algae and diatoms) The makeup of the different types gives the plant a unique shade of green.
But Wait, there's more. The ratio can also clue you into the environment that plant comes from. Shaded light is filtered, and contains less red, (think color theory where you shade with purpler colors) so chlorophyll A is less useful. Blue light is better absorbed by chlorophyll B, so shade plants will have more of it proportionally.
Pants in high light environments will usually be a lighter green because they do not need high concentrations of pigment to get sufficient energy.
There a ton of other factors, like the thickness of the leaf, the secondary pigments, Carotenoids and xanthophyll, and the health of the plant, but that's a little more about the different plant pigments