The reds, oranges, yellows and purple colors of fall comes from a chemical process that takes place when the seasons change. During the summer, leaves absorb sunlight that helps them produce food for the trees. The chemical that helps them do this is called chlorophyll; it gives the leaves their green color. In the fall, we see less daylight and lower temperatures, which cause the leaves to stop their food making process. As the chlorophyll breaks down, the green color starts to disappear and we are able to see all the other colors like yellow and orange again.
Most broad-leaved trees shed their leaves in the fall. A layer of cells develops on the stem of the leaf where it connects to the tree. As these cells gradually eat away at the tissue that supports the leaf, the tree begins to heal itself so that when the wind blows the leaf away, it is only left with a scar. Some trees, like oaks, don’t lose their leaves until the new ones start to grown in the spring and some trees, like evergreens, keep their greens year round!
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