What makes ugly leaves turn into something beautiful?

A tree requires certain elements to live. They need water, a breathable gas and sunlight. The gas is called carbon dioxide which humans emit in our breathing process. They take in water through their root systems. The sunlight is the energy source. It takes carbon dioxide and water and produces oxygen and glucose. This process is called photosynthesis.

As the days get shorter so does the sunlight allotment. This is the first sign to the trees that winter is coming. Winter doesn't produce enough sunlight for the photosynthesis to continue. The photosynthesis process is almost shut down. The trees will rest for the winter and live off the food stored in them during the summer months.

The green colors of the leaves (chlorophyll) soon disappears and bright colors replaces the green. These colors just don't pop out of nowhere. They are ever present in the leaves we just don't see them because of the presence of chlorophyll.

The simplest meaning of pigments is a coloring matter or substance. Leaves in their makeup have three main pigments: chlorophyll (green); carotenoid (yellow, orange, and brown); anthocyanins (red). These pigments determine what the color of the leaves will be as the tree shuts down for the winter. These pigments are ever present in the leaves in varying degrees. When the green color stop production then the other pigments will take over and give us a sea of beautiful colors. It's from these color that we can differentiate one tree from another.