Here's a great doc with hypotheses on how the red may work as a defense system, with good arguments for and against,
"Role of anthocyanin in plant defence"
http://research.haifa.ac.il/~biology/simcha/Publications/PIB17.pdf
I knew stipules are considered thorn mimics but appearantly red stipules makes them more scary for insects.
Also:
"Red
anthocyanin pigments are now thought to be produced in the leaf as it dies [clearly not the case for all species] possibly to mask the yellow hue left when the chlorophyll is lost—yellow leaves appear to attract herbivores such as
aphids. Optical masking of chlorophyll by anthocyanins reduces risk of photo-oxidative damage to leaf cells as they senesce, which otherwise may lower the efficiency of nutrient retrieval from senescing autumn leaves. "
It sure appears to be multifunctional. May be extra suitable (forgiving) for beginners. The silver haze is more vigorous in growth but the PCK appears much stronger.
Me too :) Never was much into color except for some autumn colors at the end. While there is still much to research about anthocyanin, from what I gather so far it does not reduce photosynthesis unless it's in "dim" conditions.
Initially I figured ideally I get colored bud but green leaves. However, the more light absorped, the darker the leaf. The darkest colored part of the leaves absorp more red light than the lighter colored calyxes and other parts that don't have as much chlorophyll to catch the red light. In other words, ideally, in theory, the leaves will get as dark as possible and the bud stays red/purple.
Both the calyxes and the stipules are mutated leaves, evolved over time into what they are (calyx, technically the bract, protects the ovule, the seed, and stipules protect the pre flower and axilary buds when young and vulnerable). Bracts (what we call calyxes, so the bud) can perform photosynthesis but in for example peas it's only 10% of what leaves do with the same light and surface. It's also where most trichomes are concentrated, which block and absorp and reflect some light too, making them even less efficient for photosynthesis. Same for sugar leaves. Trichomes on the bottom of the leaves is the key trait to identify cannabis from other plant species when you only have a portion of a leaf, like a fossilized leaf in a rock. I don't like the lack of frost on the top side in most ice/ch x ch plants but arguably not a bad thing.
Anyway, point is, the calyx/bract and stipules contain some chlorophyll but not a whole lot. Chlorophyll normally absorbs the red and the blue, so when it doesn't, more red and blue is reflected so it's logical they have more vivid color. The balance of the red and blue obviously results in red/purple/blue (anthocyanin means flower blue). It looks like the large fans will stay green at least for now.
The ph in the plant affects the color of the anthocyanin, which effectively means it changes what wavelengths of light it absorbs and reflects... I did find some research that showed the ph in the plant can be altered by adjusting the ph in the medium, but was cultivated in agar. Still not sure if I will have a clone of the color pck females... but I hope to run the purple one on hempy and see if I can get it to become reddish by running very low ph. I doubt it but easy enough to try. I could also run a red one on high ph and see if it becomes purple.
