How do red leafed maple tees preform photosynthesis? Chloroplasts are green so do they not have them? Or are they just a different color.
In: Biology
You’re right. Chlorophyll absorbs red and blue, which leaves green light behind. So if there’s a leaf with strong red color, it can’t have much chlorophyl left in its cells.
The reason this happens with red leafed maples is that they can’t keep their leaves in winter. Therefore, they draw valuable nutrients from their leaves during autumn – and this process turns them red-yellow-ish. All northern decidous (leafy) trees do this, but maples have particularly intense colors.
[Now there are actually trees which have dark red color](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Blutbuche-ffm001.jpg/1280px-Blutbuche-ffm001.jpg) during summer. But that just means that there is an additional pigment in the leaves, which absorbs light that is not absorbed by the chlorophyll.
Edit: Apparently, red leaf maples also have [red flowers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/2015-04-12_16_31_55_Male_Red_Maple_flowers_on_Bayberry_Road_in_Ewing%2C_New_Jersey.jpg/1280px-2015-04-12_16_31_55_Male_Red_Maple_flowers_on_Bayberry_Road_in_Ewing%2C_New_Jersey.jpg) in spring, so they’re not just red in autumn. European maple trees have [yellow](https://www.die-honigmacher.de/kurs2/bw_largescale/Acer_campestre_07_3.jpg) flowers instead.
Latest Answers