Reading: Why Leaves Change Color

Why Do Leaves Change Color?

In spring and summer, most leaves are green. The green comes from chlorophyll, a special part inside every leaf. Chlorophyll catches light, and the tree uses it to make food. Summer days are long and bright, so the tree makes a lot of chlorophyll. The leaves stay green all season.

Yellow and orange are in the leaf all year as well. In summer the strong green simply hides them. In autumn the days get shorter and there is less light. The tree slowly stops making chlorophyll, and as a result the green disappears. Now the yellow and the orange are seen at last.

Red is a different story. It is not waiting inside the leaf. Some trees make it in autumn, when sugar stays locked in the leaves. Cool nights and bright days make more of this red color. That is why the same tree looks different from year to year.

At the same time, the tree closes the leaf off. A thin wall grows where the leaf meets the branch. Water and food no longer pass through it. The leaf gets dry, and the wind carries it to the ground. There the old leaves are broken down by small animals, and slowly they mix into it.

The tree is not dying. It rests, and it saves water and energy for the cold months. Some trees are different, and they keep their leaves all winter. In spring new green leaves grow, and it all starts again.

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