Hort. Sci. (Prague), X:X | DOI: 10.17221/18/2025-HORTSCI

Seasonal changes in Elaeocarpus sylvestris leaf colour and physiologyOriginal Paper

Qingqing Liu1, Zhijun Huang1, Xiaolong Tian1, Zhangwei Tan1
1 School of Soil and Water Conservation, Jiangxi University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Nanchang, P.R. China


Leaves of Elaeocarpus sylvestris (Lour.) Poir. were sampled on five dates between autumn and winter and analysed to identify the factors causing progressive changes in leaf colour and physiological characteristics. Colour parameters L*, a*, C*, and s* increased significantly, particularly s*, which changed from 8 518.79 to 13 044.77 (53.13%) over the sampling period. Changes in leaf colour parameters indicated that E. sylvestris leaves became reddish, and colour brightness and purity increased. Total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents decreased significantly, with mean values on December 30 being only 15.2% and 56%, respectively, of those recorded on October 30. Conversely, anthocyanin content increased 3.15-fold, and changes in pigment content ratio were the major factors explaining leaf reddening over the experimental period. Pigment content interacted with fluorescence and photosynthetic characteristics during leaf reddening. The decrease in chlorophyll and carotenoid contents weakened leaf fluorescence while decreasing light energy use efficiency and net photosynthetic rate. The allocation of light energy to regulatory processes (e.g., photochemical reactions) and heat dissipation pathways decreased, resulting in excess excitation energy that led to photodamage in photosystem II. These findings provide a scientific basis for gardening applications of E. sylvestris and novel theoretical insights into the mechanisms of leaf colouration in colourful ornamental plants.

Keywords: plant leaf colouration; colour parameters; photosynthetic physiology; leaf pigments; photochemical reactions; photodamage

Received: February 17, 2025; Revised: September 26, 2025; Accepted: November 13, 2025; Prepublished online: June 1, 2026 

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