September 7, 2002

The green in the leaves is beginning to slowly fade. You may notice that the canopies are starting to lose the lush green of summer. This is due to the decrease of chlorophyll (the green pigment) in the leaves. This is setting the stage for the onset of the brilliant fall colors.

Take a look at this leaf. It gives a good portrait of the foliage process. As the fall progresses, the leaves stop producing chlorophyll (green pigment). This leaf is providing us with a great picture of this. Notice the only deep green remaining is surrounding the primary veins (see arrows). The other green coloration is now faded. On the right side of the leaf, almost all of the chlorophyll has vanished, making way for the other pigments (many of which have been present in the leaf since spring) to show. In this case, we are looking at a maple leaf, which possesses red, orange and yellow pigments.

This information provided by Marek D. Rzonca, The Foliage Network.