Welcome to the blog site for the Wagner's sabbatical trip to Kauai. Stop by to see pictures of the beautiful island and new beaches we have discovered. In addition I will keep you posted on my search for the elusive spider Doryonchus raptor...
(closeup of the tarsal claw)
The colors along the swamp are muted greens and reds. Occasionally you see a splash of bright color and it seems so vivid in contrast to the rest of the sullen landscape.
posted by Sabbatical Life @ 7/06/2005 09:08:00 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
What makes the ferns turn red? I've never seen this before.
I am sure it must be similar to the fall colors you see in the trees of the northeast. Once the chlorophyll is removed from the leaves, the photosynthetic accessory pigments remain and they are absorbing light at wavelengths except for at the red spectrum. The red light reflects off the leaf and hits your eye thereby looking red. I also vaguely remember hearing that these pigments are also used to protect plants from UV damage and since these plants are at high altitude they need the protection.
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