This beech tree with a beautiful autumnal display is one of the few eye catchers on Long Road at the moment. The last frost seemed to shock many of the trees into dropping their leaves. Curiously the leaves have been raining down green without first turning the yellows, oranges and browns of usual Autumns. I guess because deciduous trees lose their leaves in winter to conserve energy, the cold snap has quickened this process. I found a nice explanation of why trees loose their leaves here on e-how.
Here is a close up of an oak, just starting to show colour but having lost a lot of leaves and all acorns.
F picked up a little collection of leaves for himself today, first a leaf from one of the hazel trees.....
...and an assortment which shows quite nicely a lovely russet colour fern contrasted with some of the fallen green leaves...
...which he then pulled the stalks from and took this picture :)
The weather also affects the intensity of the autumn colours. Warmer autumns can mean less intense colours. Also heavy wind and rainfall can cause leaves to shed before they've had time to 'turn'.
ReplyDeleteOn a autumnal tangent, recent research shows rising CO2 levels could be behind our later autumns.
sciencemuseum/autumn
Thanks for that Jane...first proper comment on this blog ta kx...oh and new word for the day senescence from the science museum site
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