I was taught that there are two kinds of chlorophyll, the green and the red, and that the green is more common. But it turns out that this is a lot like saying the moon is made of green cheese. It answers the question &8212; What is the moon made of? — without actually answering it. So children are told, or were told, that the moon is made of green cheese, but they were expected to ask again later, when more able to understand. The problem being, of course, that some answers are more satisfying than others, and therefore less likely to lead to further questioning. The two colors of chlorophyll satisfied me for almost sixty years.

From the New York Times article How Does a Plant With Red Leaves Support Itself Without Green Chlorophyll?

Most plants also have other pigments: carotenoids, which usually appear yellow to orange, and anthocyanins, which are red to purple. One pigment usually dominates. So a plant with red leaves probably has higher than usual amounts of anthocyanins, Dr. Pell said. But chlorophyll is still present and at work.

And chlorophyll is green. Susan K. Pell is director of science at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The new leaves in this picture are green from chlorophyll, but the older leaves have been overcome by anthocyanin. Not exactly a household word, but apparently a reality. The chlorophyll, as she says, “is still present and at work.”