How do white plants photosynthesize?

Question

I know that plants use a cholorphyll to photosynthesize and thats what makes them green but my neighbor has a white plant and i can't figure out how it makes energy if white reflects all colors.

Answer 1

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu91w9MBGuKUABp5XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE5Y3JtYWFsBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDNgRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0Y4MjRfMTIyBGwDV1Mx/SIG=12lnj2bor/EXP=1187137008/**http%3a//www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2004-12/1103673251.Bt.r.html

Answer 2

Some plants have downy fur on their leaves which reflect a lot of light (important that you understand it can reflect some of each colour or wavelength of light without reflecting all of the light). These are often alpine plants which naturally grow on mountain tops where there is always lots of light, so they can afford to evolve hairy leaves to keep warm and retain moisture. An example is Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum), which grows in the Swiss Alps and mountain ranges in Germany
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edelweiss

Other plants contain no chlorophyll because they are parasitic, latching onto other plants and draining them for food. Many orchids do this. One example is the Bird's Nest Orchid (Neottia nidus-avis), found in some British woodlands, feeding from the roots of other plants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neottia_nidus-avis

Answer 3

If it's truly a white plant, and not just white from a film or hair on the surface (or if it's really a plant and not a fungus), then it gets its energy from other plants through a parasitic or mutualistic arrangement, or through decaying plant matter. (It doesn't make energy.)
A common nongreen plant in the Eastern US is Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora), which gets sugars through mycoheterotrophy--its roots are connected with a fungus which is also connected with tree roots, and the fungus shares the tree's carbohydrates with the Indian pipe.

Answer 4

Photosynthesis is the conversion of light energy into chemical energy by living organisms. The raw materials are carbon dioxide and water, the energy source is sunlight, and the end-products include glucose and oxygen.

It is arguably the most important biochemical pathway,since nearly all life depends on it. It is a complex process occurring in higher plants, phytoplankton, algae, as well as some bacteria and protists.Photosynthetic organisms are also referred to as photoautotrophs.

Now, please read this definition:

Plants absorb light primarily using the pigment chlorophyll, which is the reason that most plants have a green color.

Got it? Good!

Answer 5

first answerer is correct. just to elaborate (and make sure you kinda understand), the chlorophyll in the plant, which is the pigment that helps the plant photosynthesise, is green. Therefore, it reflects green light and absorbs all other colours of light to make food. So plants can photosynthesis with all colours of light EXCEPT green.

Answer 6

Maybe that plant is dead. That's my guess.