WOW-I HAVE SOME PRETTY AUTUMN LEAVES IN THE TREES (UNTIL THE NEXT BIG BLOW PHOTO BLOG!)

Red Oak and Gold Elm above the rooftop office.


Hi Everybody!!
You better look quick! Yes, there is wonderful colored leaves everywhere in the yard today. I know with the next big blow they will go. Of course, I took advantage of the sunshine yesterday and snapped a few pretty leaves to show You. Below I have shared links from Google Search about info of the different trees shown.  Now a Pop Quiz: why do green leaves change colors in fall? What does less light of fall days have to do with it?
It is your lucky day, the answer is below! Enjoy!

Red Maple just turning Red

Acer rubrum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_rubrum‎

The U.S. Forest service recognizes it as the most common variety of tree in America. The red maple ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between ...

Sweet Gum turning Gold

Liquidambar styraciflua - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidambar_styraciflua‎

A popular ornamental tree in temperate climates, it is recognizable by the combination of... Also, the American sweetgum tree doesn't grow well in shady areas.

Texas Ash turning Red

Texas Tree Selector

texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/ViewAllTrees.aspx‎

Ash, Texas Common Name: Texas Ash Fraxinus texensis. Tree Size: Medium Leaf Type: Deciduous Comments: Good long-lived shade tree. Prefers loamy ...

Sawtooth Oak turning Gold

Quercus acutissima - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_acutissima‎

Quercus acutissima, the sawtooth oak, is an oak originally native to eastern Asia, ...Sawtooth oak trees also grow at a faster rate which helps it compete against ...

Crape Myrtles just turning Gold and Red

Lagerstroemia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagerstroemia‎

Lagerstroemia /ˌleɪɡərˈstriːmiə/, commonly known as crape myrtle or crepe myrtle, is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and ...

Texas Hickory Nut turning Gold

1. Hickory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hickory‎
   

   
   
   

   Hickory (from Powhatan) is a type of tree, comprising the genus Carya (Ancient Greek: κάρυον "nut"). The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with ...

Texas Red Oak turning Red

Quercus rubra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_rubra‎

Quercus rubra, commonly called northern red oak or champion oak, (syn. ... It is also the state tree of New Jersey and the provincial tree of Prince Edward Island.

And the Winner is:

Texas Sumac turning cherry Red

1. Rhus lanceolata - Texas Native Plants Database

   aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/rhuslanceolata.htm‎
   

   
   
   

   Prairie Flameleaf Sumac, Prairie Sumac, Texas Sumac, Lance-Leaved Sumac, TreeSumac, Limestone Sumac, Prairie Shining Sumac Rhus lanceolata.

Link to photostudy in G+ Photos:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5956167092857741713




Chinese Pistache turning Gold

1. Pistacia chinensis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistacia_chinensis‎
   

   
   
   

   Pistacia chinensis (English: Chinese pistache; Chinese: 黄连木; pinyin: huángliánmù) is a small to medium-sized tree in the genus Pistacia in the cashew family, ...

What is Chlorophyll?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is a green pigment found in cyanobacteriaand the chloroplasts of algae and plants.^[1] Its name is derived from theGreek words χλωρός, chloros ("green") and φύλλον, phyllon ("leaf").^[2]Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical inphotosynthesis, which allows plants to absorb energy from light. Chlorophyll absorbs light most strongly in the blue portion of theelectromagnetic spectrum, followed by the red portion. However, it is a poor absorber of green and near-green portions of the spectrum, hence the green color of chlorophyll-containing tissues.^[3] Chlorophyll was first isolated by Joseph Bienaimé Caventou and Pierre Joseph Pelletier in 1817.^[4]

Chlorophyll and photosynthesis[edit]

Chlorophyll is vital for photosynthesis, which allows plants to absorb energy from light.^[5]

Chlorophyll molecules are specifically arranged in and around photosystems that are embedded in the thylakoid membranes ofchloroplasts.^[6] In these complexes, chlorophyll serves two primary functions. The function of the vast majority of chlorophyll (up to several hundred molecules per photosystem) is to absorb light and transfer that light energy by resonance energy transfer to a specific chlorophyll pair in the reaction center of the photosystems.

The two currently accepted photosystem units are Photosystem II and Photosystem I, which have their own distinct reaction center chlorophylls, named P680 and P700, respectively.^[7] These pigments are named after the wavelength (in nanometers) of their red-peak absorption maximum. The identity, function and spectral properties of the types of chlorophyll in each photosystem are distinct and determined by each other and the protein structure surrounding them. Once extracted from the protein into a solvent (such as acetone or methanol),^[8][9][10] these chlorophyll pigments can be separated in a simple paper chromatography experiment and, based on the number of polar groups between chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b, will chemically separate out on the paper.

The function of the reaction center chlorophyll is to use the energy absorbed by and transferred to it from the other chlorophyll pigments in the photosystems to undergo a charge separation, a specific redox reaction in which the chlorophyll donates anelectron into a series of molecular intermediates called an electron transport chain. The charged reaction center chlorophyll (P680⁺) is then reduced back to its ground state by accepting an electron. In Photosystem II, the electron that reduces P680⁺ ultimately comes from the oxidation of water into O₂ and H⁺ through several intermediates. This reaction is how photosynthetic organisms such as plants produce O₂ gas, and is the source for practically all the O₂ in Earth's atmosphere. Photosystem I typically works in series with Photosystem II; thus the P700⁺ of Photosystem I is usually reduced, via many intermediates in the thylakoid membrane, by electrons ultimately from Photosystem II. Electron transfer reactions in the thylakoid membranes are complex, however, and the source of electrons used to reduce P700⁺ can vary.

The electron flow produced by the reaction center chlorophyll pigments is used to shuttle H⁺ ions across the thylakoid membrane, setting up a chemiosmotic potential used mainly to produce ATP chemical energy; and those electrons ultimately reduce NADP⁺ toNADPH, a universal reductant used to reduce CO₂ into sugars as well as for other biosynthetic reductions.

Reaction center chlorophyll–protein complexes are capable of directly absorbing light and performing charge separation events without other chlorophyll pigments, but the absorption cross section (the likelihood of absorbing a photon under a given light intensity) is small. Thus, the remaining chlorophylls in the photosystem and antenna pigment protein complexes associated with the photosystems all cooperatively absorb and funnel light energy to the reaction center. Besides chlorophyll a, there are other pigments, called accessory pigments, which occur in these pigment–protein antenna complexes.

A green sea slug, Elysia chlorotica, has been found to use the chlorophyll it has eaten to perform photosynthesis for itself. This process is known as kleptoplasty, and no other animal has been found to have this ability.

Chlorophyll gives leaves their green color and absorbs light that is used in photosynthesis.

Please go to above link for extensive info.

Less light in fall=less Chlorophyll and less photosynthesis=other colors coming into view as green fades.  Now You Know!

Red Crape Myrtles (Bashum's Party Pink)

1. The Complete Guide to Crepe Myrtles - Southern Living

   www.southernliving.com › Home and Garden › Gardens‎
   

   
   
   

   The complete guide to crepe myrtles. Find practical gardening advice, tips, and information on beautiful, flowering crepe mytle trees.

...this is brendasue signing off from (colorful) Rainbow Creek.  See You next time!




P.S.  Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes that are coming in!!!!! I am overwhelmed. Yes, I will be 64 in about 10 minutes. Sending Love Out to All!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!






O+O