Raise your hand if fall colors are your favorite colors. (Same.) 🍁 Consider this your guide to all of your neighborhood's now-transforming trees. Ever wonder how (and why) leaves turn from green to red, rust, orange, and brown? Every leaf has a set of pigments, and there are a few that bring autumn's signature changes to life. Carotenoids produce yellow, orange, and brown colors. Anthocyanin gives color to lots of deep red and purple plants. Chlorophyll gives leaves their basic green color. It's also necessary for photosynthesis, the chemical reaction that enables plants to power sugar production with sunlight. Trees in temperate zones store these sugars for dormant periods during the winter. Both chlorophyll and carotenoids are present in leaf cells throughout each growing season. Meanwhile, most anthocyanins are produced in the autumn, in response to bright light and excess plant sugars within leaf cells. As nights grow longer throughout the fall, chlorophyll production slows down, eventually stopping completely. The carotenoids and anthocyanin that are present in the leaf are then unmasked. That's where all those bright red leaves come in! Tag someone who loves fall hues as much as you do. 👯‍♀️ . . . . . . #GroveCollaborative #Autumn #AutumnFolliage #LeafPeeping #FallFolliage #Nature #Science #FallColors #Hiking #GetOutdoors #FallActivities #Fall #AutumnVibes #FallBucketList #FallChecklist #FallAesthetic #PumpkinSpiceSeason #FallHarvest #AutumnColors #ReadyForFall #SweaterWeather