A photosynthetic pigment is a pigment present in chloroplasts or photosynthetic bacteria which provides the energy necessary for photosynthesis.
Green plants have five closely-related photosynthetic pigments:
- Chlorophyll a - a blue-green pigment
- Chlorophyll b - a yellow-green pigment
- Carotene - an orange pigment
- Xanthophyll - a yellow pigment
- Phaeophytin - a grey pigment
Pigmentation varies among the different groups of algae. Of particular note are the kinds of chlorophylls present.