Are There Plants That Can Photosynthesize By Moonlight?

Imagine having a job that’s dependent on sunny weather. As a resident of England, I'd be pretty much done for. There are, however, hard workers on this planet that rustle up energy for the rest of the food chain to enjoy day in, day out. Yes, I'm talking about plants.    A little thing called photosynthesis enables them to essentially “eat the Sun,” creating food from sunlight, come rain or shine, but what about at night? Are there any plants that can photosynthesize by the light of the Moon? As Head of Living Collection Support at London’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Thomas Freeth told us, plants have found all sorts of ways to overcome the changing nature of night and day.    Like what you heard? Get 25% off All Access annual memberships with code SCI25* and start funding independent science journalism today.    *Terms & Conditions: 25% OFF PROMO CODE: SCI25 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription: Annual paid subscription. New users only. Offer subject to change or cancellation at any time. Subscription auto-renews at full amount unless cancelled. You can cancel at any time. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, the United States (excluding Puerto Rico and US territories), the United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.