The new leaves of any plant appear pink but after some time they turn green. Do you know what the reason behind it is?
We know that the colour of any substance depends upon its property of absorption and reflection of the different colours of light. The leaves of the plant appear coloured due to the presence of some specific substances in them. For example, the presence of chlorophyll makes them appear green while the presence of carotenes makes them yellow.
When many substances are present in one leaf, it shows the colour of the mixture. The leaves which contain both chlorophyll and carotene appear yellowish green.
New leaves of some plants contain a red substance called anthocyanin, which gives the pink or red colour to the tender leaves. With the passage of time, chlorophyll and carotene are formed in these leaves, which ultimately turn them green.
The structure of chlorophyll molecules is such that when the sunlight (mixture of seven colours) falls on them, they reflect the green colour and absorb the rest. This reflected green colour reaches our eyes and gives the green appearance to the leaves.
Plants synthesize their food with the help of chlorophyll in the presence of the sunlight. This process is called ‘photosynthesis’. Plants without chlorophyll like fungi cannot make their own food. They depend on other living beings. Such plants are called parasites.
In this way, we see that chlorophyll is a very important substance for plants which gives them the green colour.