How do white Caladiums perform enough photosynthesis to support their mass?

Question

In some white caladiums, there is less than a square inch of green space spread over the whole leaf. How do these plants perform the photosynthesis necessary to support the large leaves, the roots, the flowers, and build a corm?

Answer 1

Any free growing (non parasitic) plant will rely on photosynthesis.

Plants do not have to be green though. It says in this article that the white caladium has chlorophyll, but relatively little, or the white color may come from other pigments that reflect other kinds of light.

“As with other white caladiums, there’s a little bit of mystery surrounding Florida Moonlight,” Miranda said. “Where’s the chlorophyll? Chlorophyll is a pigment that caladiums and other plants use to produce food by photosynthesis, and it gives the leaves their green color. White caladiums either get along with very little chlorophyll, or they somehow conceal its presence