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The Legend
There is an old Native American legend that explains why leaves change color in the autumn before carpeting the floors of the forest.
In the time before man walked the earth, the Great Spirit sent the animals and the trees to prepare for his coming. All the trees and animals were instructed to keep a vigil.
 During their vigil there was much talk among the trees and the animals as to who was the strongest and best. The oak tree would proclaim, "I am the strongest tree in the forest!" The bear would argue, "I am the strongest animal in the forest." With all of the arguing, some of the trees and the animals grew tired and sleepy.
One by one they began to fall asleep and the Great Spirit became angry with those who were supposed to keep vigil before the coming of man. He decided to punish those who fell asleep and to reward those who were true to their mission.
As a reward for keeping the vigil, the owl and panther were given extraordinary eyesight to see at night and the laurel and rhododendron bushes and pine and hemlock trees were allowed to keep their green leaves all the year through.
As for the bear and the oak tree, they were told that they would sleep for part of the year. So in the late fall, bears begin to seek out their dens where they will hibernate, and the trees vibrantly display their beautiful colors for the delight of man before sleeping through the winter.
The Science
Did you know that the color a leaf shows us in the fall is its "real" color?
During the spring and summer, a leaf is a food factory for the tree. Its surface is filled with chlorophyll, which absorbs the sun's light and through a process called photosynthesis converts it to food.
Why do we only see green? The sun's light is made up of several different colors - those found in the spectrum (ROY G BIV - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).  During the summer, the leaves' chlorophyll molecules absorb the other colors in the spectrum and reflect green, so that is what your eye sees.
Some leaves also have another substance called carotene. You might recognize it from other plants like carrots. This is a substance that helps produce chlorophyll to replace that which has been broken down by the sun's rays. Carotene doesn't need warm temperatures to function like chlorophyll does, so in the cooler temperatures in fall it will become more prevalent. The colors it absorbs include the blues and greens in the spectrum, so when more of the carotene is in a leaf, you'll see yellows and oranges.
Another pigment contained in leaves is anthocyanin. This is a substance that is formed when sugars and proteins interact, and it reflects the red part of the spectrum. There's something a bit unusual about anthocyanin. If the sap in the plant is more acidic, the color reflected will be a brighter red. If the sap is less acidic, then the color reflected will be more purple. Some scientists think that anthocyanin acts a "sunscreen" for leaves. This would explain why leaves more exposed to the sun would be redder than those that are more shaded (which might be yellow or orange) - they just don't need the sunscreen, so it is not there.
What makes the leaves fall off? As the veins in the leaf carry the food into the tree's trunk and roots, a separation layer is formed where the leaf connects to the branch at the end of its stem. When all food transfer is complete and the separation layer is complete, the leaf falls off. One exception is the oak tree. The separation is rarely complete, so the oak will carry its brown leaves through the winter. What makes for a spectacular leaf show? Scientists are divided on this point, some say a hot, dry summer while others claim a wet and moderate summer brings the best color. We think they are beautiful every year. |
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