Word: einset
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...intensity of the fall's light begins to bleach out the chlorophyll--the chemical that turns leaves green--and unmasks a companion chemical contained in every leaf. That companion chemical, carotene, is what turns carrots orange and leaves yellow, according to John W. Einset, an associate professor of biology who works at the Arnold Arboretum. The yellow trees that dominate Vermont's fall landscape are ashes, sassafrases (members of the laurel family), hickories and maples. But, for the most part, you see the distinctive maple scattered all over Vermont...
...create the perfect environemnt for the production of anthocyanin, a chemical relative of benzene and phenol. The bleached chlorophyll clears the way for the purple, red, pink and bluish variations of anthocyanin. For example, the Tupelo tree, found all over Martha's Vinyard, turns fire engine red according to Einset...
...this pigment activity is merely a symptom of what Einset calls a "fluctuation of metabolism" it the trees. "By fall, the metabolism essentially stops and reassimilation of nutrients into the tree begins," Einset says. The leaves begin breaking down, and the nutrients contained in them are absorbed into the bark of the tree. So, the leave fall off and shrivel to crispy, brown leaf corpses. And all over Vermont, people begin burning pile of dead leaves in their front and back yards...
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