What is the name of the brown pigment in leaves?
In most cases, brown & red pigments are anthocyanins. Purples can be xanthocyanins. Yellow pigments are xanthophylls. Red pigments in plant tissues can also be carotenes. Leaves containing primarily anthocyanins will appear red. Leaves with good amounts of both anthocyanins and carotenoids will appear orange. Leaves with carotenoids but little or no anthocyanins will appear yellow. In the absence of these pigments, other plant chemicals also can affect leaf color. An example would be tannins, which are responsible for the brownish color of some oak leaves. Here is a table of typical colors: Porphyrin like chlorophyll = green. Carotenoids like carotene and lycopene= yellow, orange, red. Carotenoids like xanthophylls= yellow. Flavonoids like Flavone, & flavonol = yellow. Flavonoids like anthocyanins = red, blue, purple, magenta depending on the pH, among other things.
