A Colorful Story About Leaves

Philadelphia (CBS) - Why do leaves turn colors anyway and how do they know when to do it?

Leaves get their green color from chlorophyll – it helps them gather sunlight in spring and summer to make glucose – food for the plant - that's photosynthesis. In winter, with fewer hours of sunshine, leaves can't gather enough light to make food, so lots of trees drop their leaves. It's less weight for the tree to support, reduces evaporation, and helps trees survive winter weather since bare branches don't hold as much heavy snow and ice which can bend or break them.

In fall as days get shorter and cooler, trees get the signal to stop making food, and the chlorophyll breaks down revealing yellow, orange and brown colors that were hidden by the green all summer. Then, some of the most intense colors are created in the fall, from leftover sugars stored in the leaves – like the beautiful brilliant reds of maple and scarlet oak leaves.

So that's the reason leaves turn colors. Isn't it pretty?

Reported By Phran Novelli, KYW Newsradio