"Leaf green" redirects here.

For the RAL color, see RAL 6002 Leaf green.

Chlorophyll at different scales

Chlorophyll is responsible for the green color of many plants and algae.

Seen through a microscope, chlorophyll is concentrated within organisms in structures

called chloroplasts – shown here grouped inside plant cells.

Plants are perceived as green because chlorophyll absorbs mainly the blue and red wavelengths
but green light, reflected by plant structures like cell walls, is less absorbed.[1]
There are several types of chlorophyll, but all share the chlorin magnesium ligand which forms
the right side of this diagram.
Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found
in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants.[2] Its name is derived from
the Greek words χλωρός, khloros ("pale green") and φύλλον, phyllon ("leaf").[3] Chlorophyll
allow plants to absorb energy from light.
Chlorophylls absorb light most strongly in the blue portion of the electromagnetic spectrum as
well as the red portion.[4] Conversely, it is a poor absorber of green and near-green portions of the
spectrum. Hence chlorophyll-containing tissues appear green because green light, diffusively
reflected by structures like cell walls, is less absorbed.[1] Two types of chlorophyll exist in the
photosystems of green plants: chlorophyll a and b.[5]