Many people enjoy traveling along rural routes to see the changing colors. Do
you know why the leaves change color? Most of the leaves that we see in the spring and summer are green because the
food-making part of the leaf, the chlorophyll, is active. Leaves also have orange and yellow pigments to create the
multi-colored foliage that we see in the fall. The carotenes and xanthophyll that give the orange color to a carrot
also contribute to the pigment of trees. Most of the year these colors are masked by great amounts of green coloring,
but changes in temperature and length of daylight causes leaves to stop their food-making process in the fall. The
chlorophyll is broken down, the green color disappears, and the yellow-orange colors become visible. Other chemical
changes may also occur, which form additional colors through the development of red anthocyanin pigments. Some mixtures
make the reddish and purplish fall colors of trees, such as dogwoods and sumacs, while other mixtures give the sugar
maple its beautiful orange.
