Etiolated Plant

Etiolated plant

A plant grown in the dark and therefore deprived of chlorophyll is called etiolated. Such plants have a number of characteristic features:

1. Pale color. Due to the lack of chlorophyll, etiolated plants do not have a green color. Their tissues are white or yellowish.

2. Small leaves. The leaves of etiolated plants are much smaller in size than those of normally developing plants. This is due to slow growth due to lack of light.

3. Long weak stem. The stems of etiolated plants elongate greatly, become thin and weak. This occurs due to the active growth of the stem in search of light.

4. Disruption of chloroplast development. The cells do not have normally developed chloroplasts, since their formation requires light.

Thus, etiolated plants are the result of seed germination and plant growth in complete darkness. Their appearance and structure differ significantly from normal green plants growing in the light.