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> Does anyone know why the leaves are initially so dark and then become lighter? Is that common in plants? I’ve noticed the same thing in frangipani. I assume
by bradrn 5y ago
> Does anyone know why the leaves are initially so dark and then become lighter? Is that common in plants?
I’ve noticed the same thing in frangipani. I assume it has something to do with the same amount of chlorophyll being distributed over a greater area, but that’s just a guess.
Also note that the leaves don’t just get lighter as they grow: the older ones also start to become dark again as they die.
- _Microft 5y agoHere is a guess. Some nutritients / elements are rare and plants need to manage them carefully. That also means that they need to protect themselves against animals feeding on them. For that, they develop antifeedants [0] for example. Maybe plants develop the structure of leaves and antifeedants first before eventually loading it with chlorophyll [1] for which e.g. magnesium is required (no idea if that counts as rare but it is certainly harder to acquire than hydrogen, oxygen or carbon. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifeedant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifeedant [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll#Chemical_structure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll#Chemical_structure