Phylogeny of Silver Maple
As the name suggests, the silver maple falls under the genus acer (commonly known as maple) and is thus a relative of all trees under said genus. The closest relative of the silver maple is the red maple and thus the two form what is known as a sister group.
All the observations made are green. The 9 observed plants have evolved to be green because they most efficiently absorb red and blue light for photosynthesis and thus green light is reflected. Many aphids on the other hand, while also being green, evolved to be green so they could blend in with plants to avoid predators.
The Lythrum observed has very bright colored petals to attract pollinators which transport pollen grains as they move from spot to spot. Thus allowing the plant to reproduce.
