Guild of Writers

I was going to do a sweeping panorama of the forest from pure red to pure green with a changing mixture in between--that way we can check out the whole spectrum.

LICHEN!!!

Hey, I'm a big fan of lichens too. Lichens are COOL! There's nothing like being out on the tundra and crunching your way over patches of lichens, staring out across vast plains of lichens, and stopping to rest on rocks encrusted all over with lichens. They're just so neat, especially when you consider the fact that they're actually a symbiosis of algae and fungus (of course sometimes it's parasitic). I like lichens!

And did you know the tundra can go red in the fall? Pictures, because I like finding pictures too...

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Hmmm? So, if its red, you are not going with photosynthesis. Are you into iron oxides? What sort of environment does that produce? In any event, it won't be oxygnated.

One good thing, without oxygen your trees won't rust.

But then, i guess there are other small problems?

I think that red colors in deciduous trees are often caused by th sugars left over after the leaves dry up and loose their chlorophyll.

If you don't have oxygen, then you might not want to link to the age.

Heres an idea to explain the red

What if the trees do not photosynthesize, they use their roots to drain small beet-like plants that grow under the trees branches. The leaves keep animals from eating the beet-things (thats why the tree keeps them). Most of the animals on this age are hurt by the color red (it has something to do with their eyes). The other colors may have something to do with the chemical make up of the soil or some other reason.

I think that red colors in deciduous trees are often caused by the sugars left over after the leaves dry up and loose their chlorophyll.

I think you're right; I seem to recall hearing that the chlorophyll death in the leaves exposed some other pigment or something that makes the leaves look red.

What if the trees do not photosynthesize, they use their roots to drain small beet-like plants that grow under the trees branches. The leaves keep animals from eating the beet-things (thats why the tree keeps them). Most of the animals on this age are hurt by the color red (it has something to do with their eyes). The other colors may have something to do with the chemical make up of the soil or some other reason.

Hmm, interesting idea! There's another way to explain the red tree colors, but I like how you think in terms of species interdependency and ecosystems. If you have any other ideas about what the jungle plant species might be doing, I'd be interested in hearing them.

Hmmm? So, if its red, you are not going with photosynthesis.

Well, the basic cause of plant greenness is that chlorophyll, a photosynthetic pigment, reflects green light that enters your eyes. If another photosynthetic pigment (something like retinal, perhaps) were to reflect red light instead of green, then you would have red plants because the reflected red light would enter your eyes and you would perceive the plants as being red. Actually, there are lots of plants here on Earth that don't use chlorophyll as their photosynthetic pigment or don't reflect mainly green light, including lichens (yay!), various species of algae and bacteria, and, even "normal" vascular plants. It is even hypothesized that the first photosynthesizers might have looked purple due to a photosynthetic pigment they may have used! So, green chlorophyll isn't a requirement for photosynthesis; you just need a photosynthetic pigment (which isn't restricted to green) with which to absorb light.
I read these articles about the topic of plant colors and photosynthetic pigments; pretty interesting stuff.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?SID=mail&articleID=E2CEE13F-E7F2-99DF-34E77CE94449C048&chanID=sa003
http://theforcethat.blogspot.com/2007/04/why-are-plants-green.html
http://www.livescience.com/environment/070410_purple_earth.html

I have one of these trees in my front yard, a very beautiful tree, though didn't know it produced fruit until I notice all the squirrels hanging out in it, eating.

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I don't know how they synthesize the light, but the leaves are a deep purple, so I would assume it's retinal.

Cool, purple! But your image isn't working; when I open the spoiler it just shows a message about bandwidth. Do you happen to know what species the tree is...?

Weird, it works for me. Anyway it is a cherry plum tree.

I also have a tree with red leafs in my garden. Since it's winter you have to wait before I can post a picture:-) (And I do not know the english name for it) But the leafs are dark red, close to purple. We also have bushes with red bark and green leafs around here.