Fall Foliage on the Wayne
Fall Foliage on the Wayne
Download a brochure for driving tours on each of the three units of the Wayne or see maps below.
Autumn 2008
Wayne NF Fall Foliage Report – No reports yet this year.
While you are in Ohio, stop by one of our many fairs and festivals.
For driving tours of each unit click the unit of choice
For fall foliage information around the country, call the fall color hotline at 1-800-354-4595.
Most people suppose fall frosts are responsible for the color change in
trees, but this is not the case. Many years the leaves change colors long
before we have a frost.
According to Indian legend, celestial hunters slew the Great Bear in the
autumn, and his blood, dripping on the forests, changed many leaves to red.
Other trees were turned yellow by the fat that splattered out of the kettle as
the hunters cooked the meat.
We now know that trees change color as a result of chemical processes. All
during spring and summer a green pigment in the leaves, called chlorophyll,
absorbs energy from the sunlight and uses it to transform carbon dioxide and
water to carbohydrates. Along with the green pigment, the leaves also contain
yellow and orange pigments. Most of the year these pigments are masked by the
greater amount of green chlorophyll. But in the fall, partly because of
changes in the period of daylight and changes in temperature, the green
pigment breaks down; the green color fades; and the yellowish colors become visible.
At the same time, other chemical changes occur causing the formation of
additional pigments that vary from yellow to red to blue. These pigments are
responsible for the reddish and purplish fall colors of leaves, such as
dogwoods and sumacs. Others give the sugar maple its brilliant orange or fiery
red and yellow. The various colors result from different amounts of the
pigments in various tree species during the fall season.
Fall weather conditions favoring the formation of brilliant red colors are
warm, sunny days with cool nights of temperatures below 45 degrees. Sugars are
made in the leaves during the daytime, but cool nights prevent the sugars from
moving from the leaves. The red pigment is formed from the trapped sugars. The
degree of color may vary from tree to tree. Leaves directly exposed to the sun
may turn red, while those on the shady side of the same tree, or on other
trees, may be yellow. Depending on weather conditions, the colors on one tree
can vary from year to year.
Color changes are not the only changes taking place in the leaves in Fall. A layer of cells are laid down at
the base of the leaf stalk to gradually sever the leaf. The layer also acts
as a healing scar once the leaf drops. The oaks and a few other species may
keep their dead leaves until growth starts in the spring.
The leaves still provide a function to nature even after they've fallen. Leaves contain relatively large amounts
of valuable elements, which when decomposed return to the soil.
| American Elm | pale yellow |
| Ash | yellow-dark purple |
| Beech | clear yellow |
| Black Oak | dull red-orange brown |
| Butternut | yellow |
| Hawthorn | brilliant, varying colors |
| Poplar | yellow and golden yellow |
| Red Maple | bright scarlet and orange |
| Scarlet Oak | brilliant scarlet |
| Sugar Maple | bright scarlet to orange and scarlet |
| Sumac | brilliant red |
| White Oak | deep red to orange brown |
| Willow | light yellow |
| Witch Hazel | bright yellow orange, sometimes purple |