Why Leaves Change Color in Autumn (updated)
This happened over night!
It is getting to be that time of year again when the leaves start changing and we all get to enjoy the colors of autumn.
It is one of the most beautiful times of year, the changing fall colors never cease to amaze me.
Watching them slowly change from yellow to orange to red and all the colors in between.
As each night gets colder than the night before the green eventually fades into a beautiful splash of colors that is ecstasy for the eyes.
And this is just the beginning.
Have you ever wondered how and why a fall leaf changes color? Well, here is the simple answer to that (so I don't bore you with science stuff) ;)
Plants make their own food. They take water from the ground through their roots. They take a gas called carbon dioxide from the air. They turn water and carbon dioxide into food and oxygen. Oxygen is a gas in the air that we need to breathe.
Plants make their food using sunlight and something called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll gives leaves their green color.
Winter days are short, cold and dry so many plants stop making food in the fall.
Then the chlorophyll goes away. When that happens we can see orange, yellow and red colors. These colors were in the leaves all summer, but the green (chlorophyll) covered them up.
Some leaves turn red. This color is made in autumn, from food trapped in the leaves.
Brown colors appear just a bit later in the fall. They turn brown from (food) waste that is left in the leaves.
And that's the really short answer. Nature is amazing so enjoy it!
Knowledge is power :)
Peace, love n all that hippie shit
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