My favorite time of year is fall! It's just gorgeous outside.... And I'm a leaf-peeper. I know, I know...but leaves fascinate me. Every fall the tree leaves turn red, yellow, orange and brown. Every autumn the same thing happens and it's just so inspiring. So! What is going on here? Isn't this a pattern? During spring and summer leaves are like little factories sucking in carbon dioxide and creating sugar for the trees, shrubs, and flowers, and sending oxygen into the atmosphere. This food-making process takes place in the leaf in numerous cells containing chlorophyll, which gives the leaf its green color. This extraordinary chemical absorbs from sunlight the energy that is used in transforming carbon dioxide and water to carbohydrates, such as sugars and starch. In the fall because of changes in DAYLIGHT and TEMPERATURE the leaves stop making food for the plant. The little chlorophyll's break down and the chemical reaction causes pigments in the leaves to come out, like red, orange, yellow and brown. I have another question though....Do trees at the equator, which receive twelve hours of light every day and temperatures stay about the same throughout the whole year, do these trees change colors? I couldn't really find a good answer for this question... I found this answer: "Some trees in Hawaii do lose their leaves for the winter, just like maple or oak trees in Vermont. ... They don't change color, but if they are somewhere cold (cold being a somewhat relative term on Maui), they can protest the "cold weather" by losing all their leaves and pouting themselves into hibernation." http://www.mauijungalow.com/2012/01/upcountry-plumeria-trees-losing-leaves.html "Pouting trees"?? If I was a tree living on Maui, I think I would be a happy tree... Another answer I found: "Evergreen trees do lose leaves, but each tree loses its leaves gradually and not all at once. Most tropical rainforest plants are considered to be evergreens, replacing their leaves gradually throughout the year as the leaves age and fall, whereas species growing in seasonal climates may be either evergreen or deciduous (drop leaves). Apparently tropical trees don't need to drop their leaves, or don't drop their leaves because there isn't TEMPERATURE change or loss of DAYLIGHT. Wow. Do you know what that means??? Trees know stuff!
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Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |