100 things challenge - 7: Why are plants green?

[birdienl]

Possibly some of you may know the answer to this day's question/fact from high school biology, but it was something I was thinking about this week as the trees get more and more green with every passing day here in The Netherlands.

Plants (or at least their leafs) are green because their cells are filled with a pigment molecule called chlorophyll. Then why is chlorophyll green? As you probably know, plants derive energy from sunlight by a process called photosynthesis. Chlorophyll is central is this process, as it actually absorbs the light. However, it does not absorb all the light, but mainly the blue and red portion of the light spectrum. This means the green portion of the light is reflected and this why we/our eyes see plants as green. So what we actually see it the 'energy-waste' of the plant.

A green sea slug called Elysia chlorotica, has been found to use the chlorophyll from plants it has eaten to perform photosynthesis for itself! It is so far the only animal who has been found able to do this.

Comments

[msantimacassar.livejournal.com]

I'm getting flashbacks of my middle school biology class ^_^ I've never heard of that slug before though, how cool is that!

[florencia7.livejournal.com]

The picture is so pretty! & I find it interesting that photosynthesis is one of the things that I actually remember from school haha It's a truly impressive phenomenon.

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

Photosynthesis drives the world, for an important part! Without photosynthesis not vegetables and without vegetables/plants no animals (and humans...)