why flowers have wonderful color?
Actually..the color we see in flowers is the result of reflected light from
various plant pigments. A group of compounds called "anthocyanidins"
are the basic ingredients. They are named for flowers in which they were first
found, such as the scarlet "pelargonidin" from the geranium
orPelargonium, the purple "petunidin" from the Petunia, or the
blue-violet "delphinidin" from the Delphinium.
Many flowers may not change color on an individual plant, but may change
color, even if slightly, among locations or various conditions. Temperature
affects color, hence the often more vivid colors in cool northern gardens than
hot summer ones. Plant stress such as from drought, insect attack, or plant
nutrition (too much or little) can also cause different levels of pigments in flowers,
and so different colors.
