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 Design
of Colours in Plants
If one does not reflect, one cannot see the miraculous characteristics
of the living beings around one. So long as one does not think about how
a butterfly with its membranous wings flies, how the flowers one sees
have such diversity of colour, how the top branches of hundreds of metres
tall trees remain green, one cannot grasp the subtleties of these. Even
the extraordinary artistry in a flower may not capture one's attention.
As we examined throughout this book, however, perfect artistry is clearly
displayed in all living beings from insects to birds, from plants to sea
creatures. Certainly this artistry belongs to Allah Who is the Creator
of all living things.
Let us think about plants, fruits, vegetables, flowers, and trees. Plants,
each having different colours, fragrances and tastes, are evidence of
the artistry in creation of Allah. Each plant you see around you or know
from books has colours and patterns that are exclusive to its kind. The
reproductive process of each is different, the proportions of nectar they
contain and their fragrances are all different. Let us think about roses.
There are red, white, yellow, orange, pink, white edged, double-coloured,
even roses with wavelike colours. Certainly, it would be great blindness
for a man who sees all this not to feel admiration for and not to glimpse
the endless might of Allah, Who is the Creator of all these flowers. In
the Qur'an, Allah refers to those who fail to appreciate the evidence
of the creation they see as follows:
How many Signs there are in the heavens and earth!
Yet they pass them by turning away from them. Most of them do not have
faith in Allah without associating others with Him. (Surah Yusuf: 105-106)
Have you ever thought about why plants are green?
As is obvious, the colours prevailing in the world of plants are green
and shades of green. Chlorophyll is the main substance producing green.
Chlorophyll, a very important substance, is a pigment contained in the
chloroplasts scattered out in the cytoplasm of the plant cell. These pigments
absorb light coming from the sun easily, but only reflect the colour green.
In addition to giving the colour green to leaves, this feature also causes
the fulfilment of a crucial process called "photosynthesis".
In photosynthesis, plants utilise sunlight, which consists of the combination
of different colours. One of the most important properties of the colours
in sunlight is that their energy levels are different from one another.
This assortment of colour called the spectrum, which is obtained by the
refraction of colours in a prism for example, has red and yellow tones
at one end, and blue and violet tones at the other end. Colours with the
highest level of energy are those colours at the blue end of the spectrum.
The difference in the energy levels between colours
is very important for plants, because they need large amounts of energy
to make photosynthesis. For this reason, during photosynthesis, plants
absorb those sunrays of the highest energy levels towards the ultraviolet
end of the spectrum, i.e. violet and blue, as well as the colours that
are more towards the infra-red (heat) end of the spectrum, i.e. red, orange
and yellow. Leaves carry out all these processes through the chlorophyll
pigment existing in the chloroplasts.52
For a plant to photosynthesise, the energy levels of the light particles
that are absorbed by the substance chlorophyll must be adequate. The process
of photosynthesis begins when a plant, with the energy it receives from
light particles, breaks the water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen molecules.
Hydrogen reacts with carbon in the carbon dioxide gas to form the sap
of the plant, which is essential for the plant to survive. In other words,
the plant produces its own food. Unused oxygen, on the other hand, is
released to the air. Most of the oxygen we breathe in the atmosphere is
produced that way.
As a result of the process of photosynthesis in plants, they produce
carbohydrates, one of the main food sources for other living things. The
substances produced during photosynthesis are extremely important for
plants themselves as well as for animals and humans, because plants are
the main source of food of all living things on earth.
As we have seen, besides providing an aesthetic appearance, the green
colour of plants is also extremely crucial for the survival of both plants
and other living creatures. Allah makes the substance chlorophyll a cause
for the nourishment of plants and the sustenance of all other living creatures.
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| The dashed and solid white curves below illustrate
the absorption spectrum of chlorophylls a and b. The black curve at
the top illustrates the effectiveness of various wavelengths of light
in powering photosynthesis. The figure reveals how closely the combined
absorption spectra of chlorophylls a and b resemble the action spectrum
of photosynthesis. 51 |
How do the Different Colours in Plants Come About?
As mentioned before, the colour reflected by each object depends on the
pigment molecules that object has. The basic pigment molecule in green
plants is the substance "chlorophyll" as earlier stated. In addition to
this, there are other pigments producing other colours in plants, and
these different kinds of pigments form the extraordinary colour diversity
we see in plants.
For example, in addition to chlorophyll, there are also
carotenoid pigments in plants. Some of these pigments, which we have examined
in detail before, are yellow and give colour to ears of corn, lemons,
goldenrod and sunflowers. Other carotenoids are much more red than yellow;
these are found in beets, tomatoes, roses, and carrots. Carotenoids are
also present in green leaves. Then one might wonder: why do leaves not
look red, yellow or orange but are mostly in shades of green? The reason
is that the green of the chlorophyll is so strong that other colours cannot
be seen.53
However, changes occur in the autumn. As the hours of daylight become
shorter, plants stop making chlorophyll, and the strength of the pigments
producing the colour green decreases, causing the green colour of leaves
to fade. The carotenoids, becoming visible now, colour the leaves brown,
yellow, and red.
Also in the autumn, a group of pigments called "anthocyanins"
form in the outer layers of certain leaves. These pigments, which are
bright red and blue, combine with the others to give leaves the crimson
and purple hues we occasionally see.54
Information about all the pigments giving colour to a plant is coded
in the DNA of that plant. For this reason, a plant species bears the same
characteristics no matter where on the earth. For example, everywhere
in the world the colour of oranges is the same; their shape and the structure
of their peels are the same. The colour of the transparent membrane, which
lies inside the peel of the orange, and which constitute little sacs filled
with orange coloured, perfumed sugared water, never change anywhere in
the world. Bananas are everywhere yellow, tomatoes are red, and roses,
violets, and carnations are all the same colours wherever they are. Wherever
you go in the world, you will not see a naturally growing strawberry with
a different colour. Everywhere in the world, the DNA of strawberries contains
the characteristics that make them the strawberry we know. The colour,
smell and taste of a strawberry are always the same. It is a unique, unparalleled
order. Certainly, it cannot be claimed that such a system has come into
existence by sheer chance. 
The owner of this matchless artistry that prevails all over the world
is Allah, Who has infinite wisdom. Allah has power over all things.
Have you ever thought how such diversity of colour comes about in plants
although they all grow in the same soil and are watered with the same
water?
In Surat ar-Ra'd, Allah draws attention to the fact that although all
watered with the same water, different crops come out of the soil:
In the earth there are diverse regions side by
side and gardens of grapes and cultivated fields, and palm-trees sharing
one root and others with individual roots, all watered with the same water.
And We make some things better to eat than others. There are Signs in
that for people who use their intellect. (Surat ar-Ra'd: 4)
As Allah has drawn to our attention, let us ponder, by looking at the
vegetables and fruits around us, how different crops come out of the same
soil. For example, let us look at melons, watermelons, kiwis, bananas,
cherries, eggplants, tomatoes, grapes, peaches, and green beans. When
you peel the dark yellow skin of a banana, out of it comes a banana of
a lighter yellow with its matchless fragrance. The red, green or yellow
peel of an apple has a smooth sheen. Humans cannot imitate the quality
of the taste and smell, an aroma particular to it, of its sweet juice.
Then, the question may occur to one: how do all those flowers, trees,
vegetables and fruits have so many different colours although they come
out of the same arid soil? This is evidence of the endless knowledge of
Allah and His creating without any preceding model. It is impossible for
man to create a new colour. All colours produced by people are only copies
of the originals existing in nature. However, Allah is the Originator,
and the creation of all the colours describing the living creatures on
earth is His. Allah's artistry in creation is matchless. One of the names
of Allah, the All-Powerful, is al-Musawwir - the One Who forms His creatures
in different forms. Allah creates everything He creates in the most perfect
forms.
He is Allah - the Creator, the Maker, the Giver
of Form. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Everything in the heavens
and earth glorifies Him. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. (Surat al-Hashr:
24)
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| In nature, there is a diversity of colour
that changes according to the seasons. Mountains, trees, lakes, rivers,
in short, all nature is evidence of the unparalleled artistry in colour
of Allah. |
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Rainbows in which the colour spectrum can be
seen in a neat order are in fact an illusion of colour. Rainbows
are formed by sunlight refracted through raindrops. |
The colurs and appearance of all plants on the earth have been created
in such a way as to appeal to the human soul. In fruits and vegetables,
there is a matchless diversity of colour. On the other hand, when we think
of flowers and trees we again see the same aesthetic appearance and diversity
of colour.
There is also a totally unequalled colour and pattern design in flowers.
Each of the hundreds of thousand kinds of flowers has been furnished with
particular characteristics exclusive to its kind. Today, the perfumes,
patterns and colours produced by men are all imitations of their original
counterparts in nature. For instance, the purple colour of the leaves
of violets, which are soft like velvet, and the smoothness of the surface
of their leaves are matchless. Velvet fabrics are produced in imitation
of the texture of violets but a similar quality can never be achieved.
With this approach, no matter what plant we examine on the earth, the
conclusion we arrive at is that it is a perfect creation. Allah, Who has
no partners in creation, creates plants for men with different tastes,
fragrances, colours and forms. What falls to us is to reflect on the signs
Allah creates and to be grateful.
51. Solomon, Berg, Martin, Villie, Biology, Saunders
College Publishing, 1993, p.192-193
52. Temel Britannica Ansiklopedisi, Vol. 7, p.16
53. Franklyn Branley, Color, From Rainbows to Lasers,
Thomas Y. Crowell Comp., New York, p.37
54. Franklyn Branley, Color, From Rainbows to Lasers,
Thomas Y. Crowell Comp., New York, p.38
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