Why Leaves Turn Color In The Fall

    

      "Why Leaves Turn Color In The Fall" is an informative essay by Diane Ackerman describing how and why leaves change colors in the fall. Ackerman first starts by giving us some scenery of the outdoors and how our surroundings makes us fell at times. She gives us an introduction of how the season Fall feels and looks when it first begins saying that it has a baggage of chilly nights and spectacular, heart-stoppingly beautiful leaves.
       She begins by asking us "Where do the colors come from?" Of course we all know that sunlight is in control of most living things. All summer long, trees feed leaves so that they can process sunlight, but in the dog days of summer the trees begin pulling nutrients back into its trunk and roots, pares down, and gradually chokes off its leaves. This then causes the leaves to be undernourished which causes the leaves to lose their color. When leaves are undernourished, they stop producing the pigment known as chlorophyll, and photosynthesis ceases. The tree survives by dropping its dead leaves and by the end of autumn only a few fragile threads of fluid-carrying xylem hold leaves to their stems.
      Leaves that start to turn stay partly green at first, then they reveal splotches of yellow and red as the chlorophyll gradually breaks down. The color that seems to stay the longest is dark green which outlines and defines the veins in the leaf. Even though in the summer, chlorophyll dissolves in the heat and light, it is also being steadily replaced. In the fall, unfortunately no new pigment is produced and that is why we notice other colors.
      Not all leaves turn the same colors. Elms, weeping willows, and the ancient ginkgo all grow radiant yellow, along with hickories, aspens, cottonweeds, and poplars. Basswood turns bronze and birches turn bright gold. Sumacs, flowering dogwoods, black gums, and sweet gums turn red. Maples tend to display scarlet. Though some oaks yellow, most turn pinkish brown. Farmlands change colors too depending on which way the sun shines.
      Children love to play in piles of leaves. I know as a child, my sister and I would pile a whole bunch of leaves up and leap into them as if they were soft mattresses. We would also help my dad rake up the leaves so they could be disposed of in eco-friendly environments. Yes, as a child I have always wondered how leaves got their color and now I know thanks to Diane Ackerman.