With September finally here, the yellow, orange and red colours of autumn leaves are soon to appear, marking the arrival of autumn and maintaining energy every year.
Brandon Fuller, a doctoral candidate and lecturer in the Department of Biology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC), says that when leaves change from green to yellow, orange and red, the leaves appear and then fall from the tree. At times, even turning purple, pay attention to Chicago’s botanical gardens.
When the tree becomes dormant, it stores chlorophyll, a chemical that gives its green leaves.
“In the winter, when plants are dormant, they actually want to retain their chlorophyll.
During the winter, the tree stores chlorophyll on its stems and reuses it when new leaves are grown, Fuller said.
When these colors appear, many Americans will be immersed in activities such as scenic train rides and photography.
Below are details and maps showing when autumn leaves have begun to appear and how to enjoy the sights of this season.
Fall Prediction of Leaf
In most areas, autumn leaves tend to appear in October, so you don’t see them much this weekend, Fuller said.
“In most northern parts of Maine, you might start seeing some of those colors, but it’s still going to be pretty quick,” Fuller said.
Where do autumn colors come from?
Fuller said Change Colors would do so because Change Colors preserves chlorophyll.
“What we see in autumn colors is that we don’t have chlorophyll,” Fuller said, adding that once the green color is gone, what remains is yellow, orange and other fall colors.
The leaves get their colour from chemicals such as carotenoids, which produce yellow and orange colours. These chemicals increase the spectrum of light that plants can use for photosynthesis and also serve as a type of UV protection for plants, Fuller said.
Plants cannot move like people, so they are exposed to the sun all day long, Fuller said. Anthocyanins, which produce red colours, act as “a natural sunscreen for plants,” he added.
When do autumn colors begin to appear on plants and trees?
John Saylor, a professor in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Protection at Virginia Tech and an arborist expert on trekking, said that while autumn colors may appear earlier in the northeastern United States, as in New England, there are not many colors until the October hit.
Some people may see their leaves change colour by late October, but this often happens because the plant is a tree in the landscape or a tree that grew after seeds from other regions have been planted, Saylor said.
In some areas, like parts of the southeast, autumn colours can peak until late October or close to Halloween.
Peek into the leaves and other fun autumn activities
As seasonal changes and autumn leaves reappear, many people either enjoy scenic train rides, photos, peek into the leaves, or go out to see the colours of autumn.
Saylor, a Virginia Tech graduate, said those who want to see fall foliage can do so while hiking.
Another activity that was once less common as using autumn leaves to make natural dyes, Fuller said. Dyes from leaves can be used to color fabrics, paper and more, he said.
“One of my favorite plants that I use to make natural dyes in the fall is a plant called smooth urushi,” he said. “The autumn leaves will be this incredibly impressive scar color.”
What’s the best place to see these vibrant colors?
Seiler added that the area, which is rich in tree diversity and elevation, is perfect for seeing autumn colors.
“You’re up and down the altitude, you’re down,” Saylor said. “It will change the seeds of your tree, and it will change the colour you see on a given day.”
Popular areas for viewing autumn leaves include Vermont, while other areas include Appalachians in the central and southern parts of the country due to tree diversity, Saylor said. There is also Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the Adirondack Mountains, he said.
He said another surefire way to see autumn leaves is to turn off the main highways.
“Sometimes you find some of the best fall colors,” Saylor said.
There are also national forests in the US
Experts will clear up misconceptions about all leaves
When asked about the misconceptions of autumn leaves, Saylor said that people often wonder whether climate change affects autumn colours.
“The trees are adjusted to the length of the day, so they basically do nothing. This has nothing to do with changing weather patterns or climate,” Saylor said.
He added that as the colour changes, the colour is based on the length of the day and the length of the day remains the same, so the trees continue to approach the same date.
Falling leaves “like nutritional recycling”
Fuller said there are benefits to changing the colour and falling in autumn. The leaves contain a lot of carbon, he said. When the leaves fall to the ground, the carbon stays in these leaves, breaking down and breaking down, returning to soil where the plant can take in.
“It’s like nutritional recycling,” he said, adding that the leaves provide leaf litter that helps create microhabitat for insects, mammals, reptiles and other organisms.
He said he often encourages people not to take their yards away. Leave leaves in the garden can provide nutrients to garden planning and provide habitat for “all kinds of cool insects.”
“If you really like lightning bugs, avoid that as the larvae live in autumn leaves and become puppies, and you can expect to see more lightning and things,” Fuller said.
Fuller said anyone wanting to peek into fall leaves this year can check out www.explorefall.com/fall-foliage-map.
Saleen Martin is a reporter for the USA Today Now team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – 757. Email her to sdmartin@usatoday.com.
