Rainforest understory shrub showing a new top whorl of leaves. As this shrub grows, it produces a new layer of young leaves of a different colour. These light brown leaves are deficient in chlorophyll, a green pigment necessary for photosynthesis. As the leaves mature, chlorophyll is laid down in the leaf chloroplasts; the leaves then turn green and become fully functional in the photosynthetic process. Many rainforest plant species produce new leaves in this way. Photographed at Jatun Sacha, Ecuador.