During the autumn months, many deciduous trees experience a bright color change in their leaves before the leaves fall. This color change present in a number of trees is often referred to as fall foliage or autumn colors. Fall redirects here. ... Deciduous means temporary or tending to fall off (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off). ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ...

Chlorophyll and the green color

A green leaf is green because of the presence of a group of pigments known as chlorophylls. When they are abundant in the leaf's cells, as they are during the growing season, the chlorophylls' green color dominates and masks out the colors of any other pigments that may be present in the leaf. Thus the leaves of summer are characteristically green. The leaves of a Beech tree A leaf with laminar structure and pinnate venation In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... For animal and plant pigments, see Pigment, biology. ... Chlorophyll is a green photosynthetic pigment found in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. ... Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green). ...

In this leaf, the veins are still green while the other tissue is turning red.

Chlorophyll has a vital function: that of capturing solar rays and utilizing the resulting energy in the manufacture of the plant's food - simple sugars which are produced from water and carbon dioxide. These sugars are the basis of the plant's nourishment - the sole source of the carbohydrates needed for growth and development. In their food-manufacturing process, the chlorophylls themselves break down and thus are being continually "used up." During the growing season, however, the plant replenishes the chlorophyll so that the supply remains high and the leaves stay green. Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... Carbohydrates are molecules that contain oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon atoms. ...

In late summer, the veins that carry fluids into and out of the leaf are gradually closed off as a layer of special cork cells forms at the base of each leaf. As this cork layer develops, water and mineral intake into the leaf is reduced, slowly at first, and then more rapidly. It is during this time that the chlorophyll begins to decrease. For other senses of this word, see Summer (disambiguation). ... In biology, a vein is a blood vessel which carries blood toward the heart. ... Cork is a tissue found in some plants, which consists tightly packed dead cells. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ...

Often the veins will still be green after the tissues between them have almost completely changed color.

Pigments which contribute to other colors

Carotenoids

Cross section of a leaf showing color changes; click to enlarge.

As autumn approaches, certain influences both inside and outside the plant cause the chlorophylls to be replaced at a slower rate than they are being used up. During this period, with the total supply of chlorophylls gradually dwindling, the "masking" effect slowly fades away. Then other pigments that have been present (along with the chlorophylls) in the cells all during the leaf's life begin to show through. These are carotenoids and they provide colorations of yellow, brown, orange, and the many hues in between. Fall redirects here. ... Carotenoids are organic pigments that are naturally occurring in plants and some other photosynthetic organisms like algae, some types of fungus and some bacteria. ...

The carotenoids occur, along with the chlorophyll pigments, in tiny structures called plastids within the cells of leaves. Sometimes they are in such abundance in the leaf that they give a plant a yellow-green color, even during the summer. Usually, however, they become prominent for the first time in autumn, when the leaves begin to lose their chlorophyll. Plastids are major organelles found only in plants and algae. ...

Carotenoids are common in many living things, giving characteristic color to carrots, corn, canaries, and daffodils, as well as egg yolks, rutabagas, buttercups, and bananas. Binomial name Daucus carota L. The carrot (Daucus carota) is a root vegetable, usually orange or white in color with a woody texture. ... Look up corn in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Binomial name Serinus canaria (Linnaeus, 1758) The Canary (Serinus canaria) sometimes called the Island Canary, Wild Canary or Atlantic Canary is a small songbird which is a member of the finch family. ... Species ????? Daffodils are a group of large flowered members of the genus Narcissus. ... An egg yolk surrounded by the egg white. ... Binomial name Brassica napobrassica The rutabaga or swede or (yellow) turnip (Brassica napobrassica, or Brassica napus var. ... This article is about the flower. ... Species Hybrid origin; see text Banana is the common name used for herbaceous plants in the genus Musa, which because of their size and structure, are often mistaken for trees. ...

Their brilliant yellows and oranges tint the leaves of such hardwood species as hickories, ash, maple, yellow poplar, aspen, birch, black cherry, sycamore, cottonwood, sassafras, and alder. Species See text Comparison of Carya nuts Ripe hickory nuts ready to fall, Andrews, SC Hickory is a tree of the genus Carya, including 17-19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and large nuts. ... Species Many, see text. ... Range of Maples Species See List of Acer species Maples are trees or shrubs of the genus Acer. ... Species Liriodendron chinense (Hemsl. ... Species Populus adenopoda Populus alba Populus grandidentata Populus sieboldii Populus tremula Populus tremuloides Aspens are trees of the willow family and comprise a section of the poplar genus, Populus sect. ... Species Many species; see text and classification Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. ... Black Cherry may refer to: Prunus serotina, a species of Bird cherry. ... Sycamore is a name applied at various times and places to three very different types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. ... Species Populus deltoides L. Populus fremontii [[]] Populus nigra L. The cottonwoods are three species of poplars in the section Aegiros of the genus Populus, native to North America, Europe and western Asia. ... Species Sassafras albidum Sassafras tzumu Sassafras is a genus of two species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia. ... Species About 20-30 species, see text. ...

Anthocyanins

The reds, the purples, and their blended combinations that decorate autumn foliage come from another group of pigments in the cells called anthocyanins. These pigments are not present in the leaf throughout the growing season as are the carotenoids. They develop in late summer in the sap of the cells of the leaf, and this development is the result of complex interactions of many influences - both inside and outside the plant. Their formation depends on the breakdown of sugars in the presence of bright light as the level of phosphate in the leaf is reduced. Plants with abnormally high anthocyanin quantities are popular as ornamental plants - here, a selected purple-leaf cultivar of European Beech Anthocyanins (from Greek: (anthos) = flower + (kyanos) = blue) are water-soluble vacuolar flavonoid pigments that appear red to blue, according to pH. They are synthesized exclusively by organisms of the plant... The abbreviation, acronym, or initialism SAP has several different meanings: SAP AG, a German software company, or its various products such as SAP R/3 or SAP Business Information Warehouse second audio program (television) Session Announcement Protocol Soritong audio player Simple As Possible Computer Architecture Structural Adjustment Program of the... Above is a ball-and-stick model of the inorganic phosphate molecule (HPO42−). Colour coding: P (orange); O (red); H (white). ...

During the summer growing season, phosphate is at a high level. It has a vital role in the breakdown of the sugars manufactured by chlorophyll. But in the fall, phosphate, along with the other chemicals and nutrients, moves out of the leaf into the stem of the plant. When this happens, the sugar-breakdown process changes, leading to the production of anthocyanin pigments. The brighter the light during this period, the greater the production of anthocyanins and the more brilliant the resulting color display. When the days of autumn are bright and cool, and the nights are chilly but not freezing, the brightest colorations usually develop. Magnification of typical sugar In non-scientific use, the term sugar means sucrose, also called table sugar or saccharose, a white crystalline solid disaccharide. ... In common parlance, a stem is any elongated, usually narrow, extension or supporting structure of an object. ...

Anthocyanins temporarily color the edges of some of the very young leaves as they unfold from the buds in early spring. They also give the familiar color to such common fruits as cranberries, red apples, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and plums. Flower buds have not yet bloomed into a full-size flower. ... Look up spring in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Species Vaccinium erythrocarpum Vaccinium macrocarpon Vaccinium microcarpum Vaccinium oxycoccus Approximate ranges of the cranberries in sect. ... The Red Delicious is a cultivar of apple. ... Species See text. ... Species Several, including: Prunus apetala Prunus avium (Wild/Sweet Cherry) Prunus campanulata Prunus canescens Prunus cerasus (Sour Cherry) Prunus concinna Prunus conradinae Prunus dielsiana Prunus emarginata (Bitter Cherry) Prunus fruticosa Prunus incisa Prunus litigiosa Prunus mahaleb (Saint Lucie Cherry) Prunus maximowiczii Prunus nipponica Prunus pensylvanica (Pin Cherry) Prunus pilosiuscula Prunus... Species 20+ species; see text This article is about the strawberry plant. ... Plum is also a nickname for British humorist P. G. Wodehouse. ...

In our autumn forests, they show up vividly in the maples, oaks, sourwood, sweetgum, dogwood, tupelo, black gum and persimmon. These same pigments often combine with the carotenoids' colors to create the deeper orange, fiery reds, and bronzes typical of many hardwood species. Range of Maples Species See List of Acer species Maples are trees or shrubs of the genus Acer. ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ... Binomial name Oxydendrum arboreum (L.) DC. Sourwood or Sorrel Tree is a small tree or large shrub, native to eastern North America. ... Species Liquidambar formosana Liquidambar orientalis Liquidambar styraciflua The sweetgums Liquidambar are a genus in the witch-hazel family Hamamelidaceae, with three species of large deciduous trees, 25-40m tall, with palmately lobed leaves: Liquidambar formosana - Chinese Sweetgum (central & southern China, Taiwan). ... Subgenera Cornus Benthamidia Swida The Dogwoods comprise a group of 30-50 species of deciduous woody plants (shrubs and trees) in the family Cornaceae, divided into one to nine genera or subgenera (depending on botanical interpretation). ... For the city, see Tupelo, Mississippi. ... Binomial name Nyssa sylvatica Marsh. ... Species (kaki persimmon) (black sapote) (velvet apple) (date plum) (Texas persimmon) (American persimmon) Persimmon most commonly refers to the edible fruit borne by some species of the genus Diospyros. ...

Tourism

Although some autumn coloration occurs wherever deciduous trees are found, the most brightly colored autumn foliage is found in three regions of the world: most of Canada and the United States; a small area of central South America; and Eastern Asia, including China, Korea, and Japan. Deciduous means temporary or tending to fall off (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off). ... This article is about the leaf, a plant organ. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... East Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Korea (Korean: (조선 or 한국, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ...

Eastern Canada and the New England region of the United States are famous around the world for the brilliance of their "fall foliage," and a seasonal tourist industry has grown up around the few weeks in autumn when the leaves are at their peak. Some television and web-based weather forecasts even report on the status of the fall foliage throughout the season as a service to tourists. Fall foliage tourists are often referred to as "leaf peepers". This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... Leaf peeping is an activity that one might partake in during autumn in areas where the foliage changes colors. ...

References

This article incorporates text from the USDA Forest Service, a public domain work of the United States Government. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... A work of the United States Government is, as defined by United States copyright law, a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that persons official duties. ...