Light Makes It Just Right

Color spotter Jeff Titcomb has been religiously documenting the Mountain maple trees at the Quincy Airport this season. Per the usual, the tree on the right side of the photo is progressing quicker than the tree to the left.

Over the years, between color spotters and californiafallcolor.com Founder John Poimiroo, it was determined that the tree on the right is receiving more light and therefore changing more quickly.

An article by Brent Cook, titled How a Tree Grows, explains, “If you’ve ever seen a tree that has green leaves on one side and red, orange, or yellow leaves on the other, it was probably a result of different amounts of sunlight. In the northern hemisphere, leaves that are on the southwest side of a tree will receive much more sunlight than leaves on the opposite side. Leaves near the top of a tree will also receive more sunlight than leaves at the bottom of the canopy. Consequently, phytochrome (photoreceptors) will trigger abscission (fall color) sooner in leaves getting more sunlight.”

While it seems a bit counterintuitive, it sure makes for interesting fall photos.