If I was a leaf I would want to be an orange one. Recently, I've seen several trees that resemble a las vegas strip map because their colors are so varied. I like to think that each leaf gets to pick which color it will be. However, there is this pesky thing called science that thinks differently. So I started reading up at wikipedia as to what determines a leaf's color.
When the chlorophyll that makes the leaf green starts to fade carotenoids & anthocyanins take over. Carotenoids are present in everything from egg yolks to bananas. They give color to trees like maples, aspens & cottonwoods which have bright yellow or orange autumn leaves.
Anthocyanins are different from carotenoids because the pigment isn't inside the leaf year round. Anthocyanins develop in the late summer & depend on the breakdown of sugars. They are at their most vivid when the days are bright & the nights are cool without freezing.
I believe this is why the phrase clear as mud was invented.
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