Wallpaper of a sugar maple branch witn brilliant autumn leaves in Baxter State Park, Maine, USA.
Summer drought boosted colorful leaf pigments, increasing concentration of anthocyanin, the natural pigment that produce the reds and purples in tree species including ash, black gum, sumac, and some maples.
Natural pigments that produce yellow, orange, and brown colors, called carotenoids, are always present in leaves. They emerge only when photosynthesis stops and chlorophyll, which masks the cartenoids with green color, fades away.
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