Fast Facts About Trees and Leaves
- What are leaves? They are miniature factories that use sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and chlorophyll to make food for themselves and their plant.
- Why do leaves fall in the autumn? The shorter days mean less sunlight and the “factory” can’t sustain itself and falls from the branch.
- Why do leaves turn colors in autumn? The red, yellow, orange, and brown are always present; we just can’t see them because the intense green pigment of chlorophyll blocks them. In autumn, the fall colors become visible and bright when the green chlorophyll fades before the leaf falls off the tree.
- Depending on species and age a mature, healthy tree can have 200,000 leaves. In a sixty year life it can grow and shed over 3600 pounds of leaves returning about 70% of their nutrients to the soil.