Fall = Beautiful Color

As the different colors of leaves begin to change on the deciduous trees, you can begin to tell that the trees are starting to go dormant for winter. Some people may think that the original color of deciduous trees is green, however the original color of the tree’s leaves is only shown during Autumn. When plants make food, they use the process called photosynthesis which uses sunlight, H₂O, and Co2 to create glucose for the plant’s nutrients. This process takes place in many of the plant cells in deciduous trees that contain chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a green pigment that helps the cell capture sunlight needed for completing photosynthesis. This pigment is what makes the color of the leaves during the spring and summer, green. So when Autumn comes, the plant stops the cycle of photosynthesis when the temperature decreases and the length of day decreases. Then the chlorophyll disintegrates and the green colors gradually disappears bringing out the true colors of the tree’s leaves (which tends to be colors like: orange and yellow). The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color.  This is where the beautiful colors of the autumn leaves come from.  I LOVE Fall!