Malachite green colored cation. The oxalate salt is also marketed. The anions have no effect on the color. The intense green color of the cation results from a strong absorption band at 621 nm (extinction coefficient of ). Malachite green is prepared by the condensation of benzaldehyde and dimethylaniline to give leuco malachite green (LMG): Second, this colorless leuco compound, a relative of triphenylmethane, is oxidized to the cation that is MG: A typical oxidizing agent is manganese dioxide. Hydrolysis of MG gives an alcohol: This alcohol is important because it, not MG, traverses cell membranes. Once inside the cell, it is
Malachite sunbird sunbird species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time. As a fairly large sunbird, the malachite sunbird is no exception. They have long thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to nectar feeding. Some plant species from which malachite sunbirds feed include many "Aloe" species, such as "Aloe broomii", "Aloe ferox" and "Aloe arborescens", and "Protea" species, such as "Protea roupelliae" as well as various other bird-pollinated plants such as "Leonotis" and "Strelitzia". It has been suggested that their behaviour of guarding flowering plants may have led to