Into the Wild: Loving Autumn Leaves

Mature white oak surrounded by fall color in Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, DuPage County, Illinois. Photo by Rich Witkiewicz.

Leaf photos by Sam Rowell, Ed Reschke.

Fall 2004

Loving
Autumn Leaves
Each autumn,
Chicago Wilderness transforms itself into a swirling landscape of scarlet, orange, gold, and purple. Join us as we try to throw our arms around the hefty hues of the Midwest.
Compiled by Lauren Murrow and Don Parker.

Turning Leaf: Will it Be a Good Year for Reds?
A few key ingredients for a robust leaf season:
• A warm, wet spring followed by a mild summer.
• A bright, sunny fall with plenty of cool (but not freezing) nights. (Lots of cloudy fall days often means rustier reds and more tarnished golds.)

Why the Leaves Leave
When the days get shorter, a layer of cells at the base of a leaf's stem becomes cork-like, cutting off the leaf's supply of green chlorophyll and exposing yellow and red pigments. Eventually, the leaf breaks off at this cork wall.

Field Guides for
Fall Leaves
• Great Lakes Trees & Wildflowers by James Kavanagh.
• National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees by Elbert Luther Little.
• The Manual of Woody Landscape Plants by Michael Dirr.

The Chicago Wilderness Autumn
The fall leaf colors of our region reflect Midwestern sensibilities. The native trees and shrubs don't mess around with the lighter hues of the Northeast; they go straight to bold crimson and brawny browns and golds. The landscape seduces with rattling bronze oak leaves, the dark chocolate of the crisping prairie dock, and waving golden grasses. But everywhere, there are dashes of unexpected brightness: a sumac, a maple grove, the multi-colored leaves of goldenrods.

Appreciating Fall
How many autumns have passed by in a rush of obligations, when the leaves came down before you had a chance to notice? Fall is something worth setting time aside for.

Journal
Write about the changes of fall. Imagine that you have never seen a tree change colors. What's happening? Which trees change when? What happens to the leaves once they're on the ground? How do the leaves smell, sound, feel?

Head into the Preserves
While it's great to know the trees on your street, try a hike in your local forest preserve. Not only will you get a greater variety of tree color, but the display will be mixed with the colors and textures of grasses, fall wildflowers, shrubs - even migrating birds.

Art
Painting, drawing, and photography can help you see things you might not otherwise notice: the unique carpet of leaves under each tree, the full range of color in the woods, the veins on a single leaf.

Leaf Hikes
Take a long walk at least once a week so you can see the slow-motion fireworks unfold. Join a group leaf hike to learn what kind of tree you're looking at. You might even be able to determine its health and its place in the ecosystem by the leaves it drops.

Local Group Hikes
Here are a few groups that are leading "leaf hikes" this fall:

October 16: Fall Nature Walk at Rollins Savanna, Grayslake, Illinois. (847) 968-3321.
October 16: "Legends of the Fall" at The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois. To register, call (630) 719-2468.
October 23: Fall Color Walk at Sand Ridge Nature Center, South Holland, Illinois. (708) 868-0606.

Contributors: Scott Wenthe, Nancy Clifton (Chicago Botanic Garden)

What Makes Fall Color (The Morton Arboretum)

Fall Color Sequence

The Oaks: Family Trees

University of Illinois Extension: The Miracle of Fall (includes ID guide to common fall leaves)

Why Leaves Change Color (US Dept of Agriculture)

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