Green is the colour of life
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
HAVING raved about the display of colour currently being provided by the wonderful blossom and early wildflowers, I did as I said I would and headed out to a local woodland to ensure I was making the most of this natural spectacle.
Having spent an hour or so taking in the blossom and flowers, I came to a slightly shaded section and happened to glance up at a bank of yellow archangel – an ancient woodland indicator and one of my favourite wildflowers.
As I looked closer, it wasn’t the striking yellow flowers that made the most impact, rather the huge variety of different greens that I could see from the woodland floor and up into the canopy.
If you were describing a scene to someone and said everything was green, they might envisage a boring block of a single dull colour but in nature there are so many shades of green that even a monotone palette can have impact.
The reason that there are so many shades of green in nature isn’t a mere fluke, the green colour in leaves comes from pigments, the most important of which is chlorophyl, that are essential to the process of photosynthesis by which plants convert sunlight into sugars to provide energy for growth.
The chlorophyl is held within special cells, chloroplasts, which act like tiny solar panels – transforming sunlight into food. This amazing process is one of the most important on our whole planet.
With chlorophyl an essential element of plant development and survival, we’ve ended up with a huge diversity of shades as plants have evolved.
As well as providing visual diversity, the variety of greens is inextricably linked to the process that sustains life on our planet – with the process of photosynthesis in plants providing most of the oxygen in the air we all breathe.
On a sensory level, the range of greens is fast approaching its peak – with new leaves appearing in a myriad of hues, alongside evergreens such as grasses, trees including holly and yew.
These new leaves are packed with the vital pigment but over time, whether due to lack of light and water or even too much sunlight, leaves will start to turn yellow.
By autumn, as trees stop replacing the chlorophyl, the gallery of greens gradually gives way to an array of autumnal tones.
The variety of greens isn’t simply clear between plants, species such as cuckoo pint or lords and ladies – a plant which has as many names as shades – have many greens across their different parts, including the flowers. In time, the delicate green hood of the flower will provide a muted backdrop to a spike of bright orange berries.
Whilst we often associate flowers with a wider range of colours, a surprising number of plants, including most grasses, have green flowers - as do many tree species including field maple and small-leaved lime.
The yellow archangel, the plant that took my eye whilst on this particular walk, adds another dimension to the display because sections of its leaves have no chlorophyl at all – making them look extremely pale green or even white.
In botany and horticulture this feature is known a variegation, with the yellow archangel sometimes known as variegated archangel.
Whilst we know that time spent in natural green spaces is beneficial to our health and that green can be a calming colour even indoors, the reasons why are still being unpicked.
There must be an element relating the fact we all evolved in nature and feel an innate sense of connection, but I wonder if at some visceral level we understand the role that plants play in sustaining our very existence.