Why are the young leaves of camphor trees red?

The young leaves of many trees are red in spring, and so are the young leaves of camphor trees.

Spring has come, and flowers and trees are thriving in full of green. When people watch carefully, they will find that many trees and flowers have some red and purple buds and leaves, which are very lovely.

We know that the reason why plants have all kinds of colors is determined by the pigments contained in their bodies. Leaves are generally green because they contain chlorophyll, but chlorophyll does not germinate with its branches and buds. The buds of plants are like newborn babies when they are born. Babies are fed by their mothers' milk, and new buds and leaves of plants also rely on other parts of plants for nutrition. When the baby grows to a certain stage and grows teeth, he will gradually be able to eat all kinds of food, as will the new leaves of plants. At a certain stage, chlorophyll will be produced, and it can make its own nutrients, so it does not need other parts to supply it.

Some plants produce chlorophyll early and new leaves turn green quickly, while others produce chlorophyll late and new leaves turn green late.

Why are these new leaves not colorless but red before the plant shoots produce chlorophyll? This is because plants contain a substance called anthocyanin, which existed long before chlorophyll was produced. The beautiful colors of flowers and fruits are basically anthocyanin tricks. Anthocyanins not only dye flowers and fruits in different colors, but also dye young leaves and new buds in red and purple until chlorophyll in the branches and buds is produced in large quantities, making the vegetation appear green.