Re: [AGA Member] Plant Pigmentation Discussion (somewhat long)

["S. Hieber" <shieber@yahoo.com>]

Anthropomorphic, but fun;-)

So then, based on this, when the R. indica gets closer to
the lights it gets greener?

Scott H.
--- Phil Edwards <biotypical@hotmail.com> wrote:
> . . .Every
> plant hopes to make it 
> up into the sun one day whether by climbing or when
> whatever's shading it 
> falls down and uncovers it.  That being the case most
> plants continue to 
> have an upper side with pigments ready to take advantage
> of any increase in 
> light and change in spectra.  Given that blue light
> penetrates the best it 
> makes sense for a plant to have those pigments which
> absorb non-blue light 
> above the blue absorbing pigment in the leaf.  This
> strategy gives each leaf 
> the best opportunity to absorb every scrap of available
> light it can.
> 
> Cryptocoryne wendtii is a perfect example of this.  On
> the average, under 
> low light conditions they tend to have a darker color on
> the upper sides of 
> the leaf with a fairly red/burgandy underside.  Since the
> plant doesn't need 
> much pigment to absorb red-green light there isn't much
> pigment for those 
> spectra.
> 
> It doesn't hurt the plant much to produce those pigments
> (blue light passes 
> through them easiest), and they could potentially be
> useful, there are some. 
>   That's why our plants often have a rusty-brown color on
> the upperside of 
> their leaves.  They have a mix of (lots of) red pigment
> mixed with a little 
> green, orange, and yellow for good measure.  Red + Green
> = Brown and (Red + 
> Orange-Yellow) + Green = Rusty-red + Green = Rusty-Brown.
> 
> All of you math teachers out there take that down!  I
> never thought I'd be 
> using math and art to explain a botanical concept.  LOL!
> 
> 
> After thinking about this it also explains, to me at
> least, why red light 
> tends to encourage leggy growth and blue tends to
> encourage shorter, bushier 
> growth.  Please forgive me if I'm rehashing old material.
> 
> When a plant is exposed to light with a higher red
> quality it believes that 
> it's near the top of a canopy and needs to continue
> growing as all as it can 
> as quickly as possible to prevent itself from being
> overgrown.  Hence the 
> longer internodal length and/or long petioles in our
> plants.
> 
> The converse is true for light with a higher blue
> quality.  Plants receiving 
> this light are led to believe that they're already
> overshadowed and have 
> less need to spend energy growing tall when growing wider
> will be of more 
> benefit.  Broad leaves and wider spread allows the plant
> to gather more 
> light, which it needs to compensate for the lack of light
> it believes it's 
> receiving.
> 
> I think that does it,
> Phil
> 
> BTW, this is fun!  Thanks for making me use my head
> Roger.


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