fall color

While spring grabs all the headlines with its abundance of flowers, there are few things as beautiful as the transformation of leaves into shades of gold, orange, and red. This color change is so dramatic it is even visible from space https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/collection/1692/fall-colors.

What a spectacular year for fall color! From red maples reminiscent of a sailor’s sunset and gingko as bright as the sun shining on them, it’s difficult not to become entranced by the majestic display tendered by changing autumn leaves. Offering an explosion for the senses, what we are really experiencing is chemistry happing right before our eyes! Let’s take a closer look at some of this year’s highlights.

One of my favorite times of year has arrived and the colors of leaves have begun to change.  Some trees are a riot of colors while others are just downright… blah-blah.  So, let’s review the science behind why leaves change colors and then maybe you can forecast your own potential fall spectrum of color chances!

 

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Fall color is beginning in northeast Ohio. Although the Sugar Maples have not reached peak fall color, other plants including Sassafras, Sourwood, Black Tupelo, Staghorn Sumac, Burning Bush, and Dogwood have exploded in fall color.

  We have visited fall color themes with several recent bygl-alerts (http://bygl.osu.edu/node/612; http://bygl.osu.edu/node/603; http://bygl.osu.edu/node/602), and as the season progresses it just keeps getting richer. Following are some additional Season of 2016 features. And the lead picture above, though it looks like it comes from the Smokies or from Almost Heaven, is just from my backyard, with fall foliage rising from the strawberry fields forever of the...