No matter how good the summer is, the time comes when the greenery surrounding us becomes crimson, and nature is slowly, beautifully and majestically preparing for a winter vacation. From early spring to this time, we observe how mainly green leaves of trees appear and form from the buds, which in each period of their development have a slightly different shade.
What is the reason for this difference in tones, and where does the green color disappear in the autumn season?
In the summer, trees grow, increase their root system, expand the crown. New branches appear on them, and in order for them to have enough vitality, leaves appear on them - powerful optical installations or even factories that are aimed at receiving and preserving, and then transmitting light energy to the whole plant. The leaves of the trees have many other important functions, one of them is respiration, and the other is nutrition.
As a result of the combination of these functions, continuous biochemical processes take place here, a battery of sunlight - chlorophyll, a collector of hydrocarbon, carbon dioxide and a producer of free oxygen - xanthophyll, work, a lot of carotene is formed - a vitamin that has an orange tint, and a lot of different vitamins, including very many red anthocyanins. It is the presence of such a rich composition, which, in fact, is a natural pharmacy, is appreciated by traditional healers who use tree leaves to treat diseases in people.
However, chlorophyll prevails in the early summer, there are so many of it that the presence of other coloring elements with the naked eye is almost not noticeable. The word “almost” means that each of us sees that a different leaf of a tree has different shades. The hue is the visible part of the spectrum formed by other elements that change the emerald color characteristic of pure chlorophyll to that inherent in the species of the plant.
Young greens contain less tannins and other coloring vitamins, so it is more tender and bright. Over time, a lot of substances are produced and accumulated in the leaflet, including metals and trace elements. They also change the shade, making the greens more complete, saturated and with specific, inherent in this species, distinctive features.
Closer to autumn, the sun begins to decrease its activity. It sends less and less energy to the earth every day. Naturally, for its reception and processing, the leaves of the trees no longer need such an excessive amount of chlorophyll, therefore its content begins to decline, and the production of other vitamins and minerals that feed the plant continues. Therefore, the appearance of the first yellowish, reddish harbingers of autumn does not yet mean the death of foliage, but serves only as a transition to a new functional state.
In the last warm days of the year, the whole nature is decorated with very bright and incredibly beautiful leaves of trees, the photos are well reflected by its majestic scarlet, testifying to the preparation for a long winter vacation. Any condition of the surrounding plant world is favorable to man. We tend to love and enjoy all the manifestations of his beauty.
