• The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
    Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
    Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.

  • Today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11. I pray that this nation does not forget the loss of lives from this horrible event. Yesterday conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was murdered, and I worry about what is to come. Please love one another and your family in these trying times - Spark

Where do they come from?

S

stitchawl

Joined
Jul 26, 2008
Messages
2,849
You've all seen it every year. In fact, many of us eagerly await its coming! Once a year, for about a month or two, the forests turn to spectacular colors. People travel to New England from all parts of the county to see the Fall Foliage. So many different colors! Bright reds from the maples, golds from the oaks, yellow from the birches, purple, greens and blues from the firs and spruce, all mix together. The western states blaze golden with the change of the aspens.

Test yourselves. You know your bushcraft. You know some woods biology. Where are these colors coming from? You've seen them every year. Where are they? Do you know the names of the chemicals that produce the colors? Everyone knows that the greens come from chlorophyll. What about the reds? How about the yellows and oranges? Where does the 'green' go? How does it happen? Do you know your woods? :)

Stitchawl
 
part of the aging process and the letting go.
the Deciduous trees decided a long time ago it was better in the long run to drop the old worn out leaves and put some hope in the buds.

the colors are produced by a few chemicals anthocyanin
xanthophyll
and i think the orange comes from a carotene like the cheese color
buzz
 
Fine I'll start.
I didn't look anything up because this thread will probably be more fun if people chime in with stuff...

Taking a stab from what I remember of high school biology...

The green goes because the trees are basically shutting down.
They cut off life support to the leaves which begin to die.
With no chloropyl in the leaves you see what I assume are either underlying colors that are always there, and/or the start of decomp.

[edit] doh markv beet me, guess I didn't start us off
 
Hmmmphh.... At first I thought you might be asking where all the tourists who come to look at the leaves came from. Wherever that happens to be, I wish they'd all go back there, dadgum traffic nuisance... grumble, grumble...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top