Why do maple leaves turn red? 5, Why do maple leaves turn red?

Compared with many other green plants, the red maple leaves turn red in autumn is very special, and many garden lovers will go out of their way to see the red maple after it changes color. Whether the red maple is made into a bonsai and placed indoors or planted in the garden, the ornamental effect is very good. So why does the red maple start changing color in autumn?

Red maple The leaves of red maple contain a variety of pigments, namely chlorophyll, lutein, carotene, carotenoids and anthocyanins. In the growing season of plants, due to the absolute dominance of chlorophyll, the leaves are fresh and green, when autumn comes, when the temperature drops, the synthesis of chlorophyll is blocked, and the leaves containing lutein and carotene are yellow. The red maple of the red leaf tree species produces a red pigment called anthocyanin in the leaves in autumn, which makes the leaves appear red, so the red maple begins to have green leaves after the chlorophyll decreases in the autumn and slowly turns red, but also because of this unique red, the red maple appears more fiery and energetic in the depressed autumn, and has a higher ornamental value.

Through the above introduction, I believe we all understand why the red maple leaves will turn red in autumn, all of which is the combination of chlorophyll, but anyway, when there are yellow leaves everywhere in autumn, the fiery red branches and leaves of the red maple are indeed worth appreciating, and it is believed that it is also a good decoration in the home.

There is also an anthocyanin in the leaves of maple trees.

In the autumn, when the temperature drops and the light decreases, the leaf sap of the maple tree becomes acidic, so it turns red.

The reasons why the maple leaves turn from green to red in autumn are:

In addition to chlorophyll, maple leaves also contain carotenoids (yellow, orange and red).

In spring and summer, chlorophyll is more abundant in the leaves than other pigments, so the leaves appear green.

When autumn arrives, the days are shorter and the nights longer, and the short days make the trees begin to lose their leaves. The chlorophyll in the leaves gradually disintegrates, and the color of other pigments is revealed on the leaf surface, so the maple leaves appear red.

In addition to chlorophyll, lutein, and carotene, the leaves of maple trees also contain a special substance called anthocyanin, which is rare in other plants. As we all know, after the arrival of autumn, with the decrease of temperature, the decrease of air humidity, and the weakening of light, the content of chlorophyll, lutein, and carotene in plants gradually decreases.

Maple leaves turn red because the leaves contain a lot of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins, also known as red pigments, are located in vacuoles in leaf cells. Unlike other pigments in leaves, it is not involved in photosynthesis.

The main role of leaves is to obtain nutrients such as sugars and carbohydrates needed for tree growth through photosynthesis. As a site for photosynthesis in leaves, chloroplasts contain not only chlorophyll, which makes leaves green, but also carotenoids, which make leaves yellow. In summer, the leaves are high in chlorophyll, so the bright green overshadows the yellow.

As the air temperature drops and the daylight hours become shorter, chlorophyll is broken down in large quantities, revealing other pigments such as carotenoids that are submerged in the leaves. Scientific experiments have proved that in addition to chlorophyll, lutein, carotene and other pigments, plant leaves also have a special pigment called anthocyanins, which is a kind of "chameleon", which is red in acidic liquid. In autumn, the temperature decreases and the light weakens, which is beneficial to the formation of anthocyanins, while the leaf cell sap of red leaf trees such as maple trees is acidic, so the whole leaf is red.

In this way, Zhao Yi of the Qing Dynasty in the poem "Wild Steps" "is the most nosy in the autumn wind, red his maple leaf white head", but "who dyes the maple forest drunk" is more scientific. The tall tree in front of us is the maple tree, and when autumn comes, the leaves turn red, and I believe that everyone can see the intoxicating scenery of "frost leaves red in February flowers" when you go to Niumlin in autumn.