We’ll never get over the beauty of the Begonia U485. @room.for.plants shares something interesting about why the leaves are blue: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“This plant is iridescent to increase the efficiency of photosynthesis under low light as it grows in deep shade. With iridioplasts (specialized chloroplasts), it slows down light to increase photosynthesis rates by an estimated 10%. The ‘side effect’ of that effort is a reflection of the blue wavelengths of light, which often don’t reach the shade anyway. That means the blue reflections are usually only clearly visible when the plant is illuminated by strong light such as flashlight.”
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