Academic Reading
Why leaves change colour
AIn autumn, the leaves of many trees turn from green to brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red before they fall. The green colour comes from chlorophyll, the pigment plants use to capture sunlight during the warmer months.
BAs days shorten and temperatures drop, trees stop making chlorophyll, and the green fades away. This reveals yellow and orange pigments that were present in the leaf all along but had been hidden. In some trees, extra red pigments are produced at the same time, creating the vivid displays that draw visitors to forests each autumn.