Fall Leaves

Wow- things have been super busy lately! I can’t believe how quickly the past few months have flown by.  Since finding out that I’m expecting, my life has gotten jam-packed with baby preparations, spending extra time with friends and family, and transitioning out of my current job. Unfortunately, it looks like my little blog attempt got left behind in the dust.

Well, not anymore! Since fall is the time of falling leaves, it seems like an appropriate time to turn over a NEW leaf and get writing again.

Speaking of leaves, that brings me to this week’s blog post…

How do leaves change color?

 

I only remember bits and pieces from my 4th grade science class. I know that the green color comes from chlorophyll, which is part of photosynthesis. But what did Mrs. Hipwell say about the color changes?

In situations such as this, I turn to my good friend Mr. Google.

So, how do we get the beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds of fall?

 

Photo taken in Bone Lake, MI

University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri has covered this one. His website explains fall colors in his “chemical of the week” series. His explanation:

“If the leaf contains carotene, as do the leaves of birch and hickory, it will change from green to bright yellow as the chlorophyll disappears. In some trees, as the concentration of sugar in the leaf increases, the sugar reacts to form anthocyanins. These pigments cause the yellowing leaves to turn red.”

So, the same glucose that gives us delicious maple syrup is also responsible for the gorgeous, dark red hue this time of year.

Photo taken at Deer Lake Campground, MI

When the leaf contains equal parts of both chemicals, the leaf appears orange.

When a leaf appears dark brown, as is the case with many oak trees, it is due to the dried, leftover waste of the leaf (like most of my indoor plants, unfortunately).

 

 Photo taken at Deer Lake Campground, MI

 

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” -Isaiah 64:6