14 APR 2012 by ideonexus
Why Plants Evolved to be Green
why is green the dominant color of terrerestrial plants? That's easy. Chlorophyll molecules absorb light at the red and blue ends of the spectrum. It is the middle of the spectrum (the green part) that is reflected and gives plants their characteristic color. A more efficient photosynthetic pigment would be black, absorbing all colors, soaking up all the energy of sunlight, reflecting nothing. The reflected green light of plants is wasted energy. So perhaps the real question is. Why isn't gra...An hypothesis that their microbial ancestors had to compete with purple lifeforms and green gave them a spectrum of sunlight to absorb.