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Begonias are forest floor plants and some are highly specialised for low light conditions. In the darkest places, they have metallic blue leaves.
The colour comes from iridoplasts – a special type of chloroplast for capturing as much light as possible. They work by having many tiny surfaces which absorb light. An accidental side effect is that any light that reflects back gives the leaves an iridescent blue sheen.
A similar reflection effect causes the blue colour in Morpho butterfly wings.
@InvaderXan hmm! Know if iridoplasts occurs in most plants but just isnt nearly as dominant as chlorophyll or if this is a special adaptation in this group?
@daylight
They don't even occur in most begonias as far as I know. They're just one type of specialist environmental adaption.
Though I haven't read too much on this, in fairness, so there's probably more that I don't know.
@InvaderXan my friend just linked me a paper on the subject!
@InvaderXan their findings suggest other low light plants may have similar adaptations
@InvaderXan http://www.esalq.usp.br/lepse/imgs/conteudo_thumb/Photonic-multilayer-structure-of-Begonia-chloroplasts-enhances-photosynthetic-efficiency.pdf its pretty jargon heavy but the bolded section gets its point across
@daylight
Oh cool, thank you! The mixture of physics and botany jargon is a little unusual, but thankfully I have practice with both. In fact, this is relevant to my own research... 
@InvaderXan i didnt know you were researcher ahaha!!!
@daylight
Yeah, I'm a physicist. 
@InvaderXan oh cool! than this should be easy for you haha, im entirely biology physics is alien to me
@daylight
I always like reading things which blend multiple parts of science. Physics and botany in particular.
This is a very interesting paper...
@InvaderXan what level of academia are you in if you dont mind me asking, its what i wanna do and making connections with folx who already do it rules
@daylight
Oh, I don't mind. I'm currently on my second postdoc contract. Which means I'm probably supposed to know what I'm doing by now.
How about you?
@InvaderXan ahah amazing! im just a biology bachelors, EVENTUALLY planning on zoology doctorate
@daylight
If you want to, then I say go for it. It can be difficult work at times, but it's definitely worth it in my opinion. Any particular branch of zoology? Or are you still deciding that part...?
@InvaderXan still defnitely not set haha, i wanna do conservation something,,, but i love all life so much weh
@daylight
Many interests is definitely not bad thing. Especially if you can link a few together!
@daylight
Oh, interesting. Logical too. I wouldn't be surprised if similar mechanisms have evolved independently in different places.
@InvaderXan Do you know what species that photo shows? I would like to learn more about it.
@clifstan
I’m afraid I’m not certain. A well known shiny blue species is begonia pavonia, but those spiral leaves make me think this picture could be a hybrid. Begonia pavonia x rex, perhaps.
@InvaderXan Thanks! It's neat, in any case. And I've long admired structural blue in animals but didn't know plants had it too.
@clifstan
Honestly, until I made that post, neither did I!