Do yellow leaves of a plant serve any purpose?

I understood yellow leaves (in general, not necessarily Chinese plants) to mean overwatering.

@elbanditoroso and @mazingerz88 also can mean not enough light.

You can remove them.

It’s also normal for leaves near the bottom of the plant to yellow due to old age, and they can be clipped off.

I wonder the same thing. Aside from aesthetics, are the yellow leaves still chugging along with their photosynthesis for the plant’s well-being?

^^I decided to take some of them off, only those with stems that easily detached.

I thought yellow meant that the chlorophyll has gone away, leaving the naturally yellow leaf structure material visible. That’s what happens to autumn leaves just before they fall.

@mazingerz88 That’s what I usually do too.

@RocketGuy I thought it meant that the chlorophyll level was going down. But at what point has it officially tapped out?

I don’t know any better, so I would guess: brown and dry.

@RocketGuy I pull off whatever isn’t hanging on too tightly. Figured nature will hang on if it’s still useful.

Though perhaps @mazingerz88 might be better off doing the opposite of what my natural instinct is. Like George Costanza of gardening. Haha