Bright yellow autumnal tree

A tree in bright yellow autumn colours on the edge of a field in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, UK.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autumn_leaf_color):

Carotenoids are present in leaves the whole year round, but their orange-yellow colors are usually masked by chlorophyll. As autumn approaches, certain influences both inside and outside the plant cause the chlorophylls to be replaced at a slower rate than they are being used up. During this period, with the total supply of chlorophylls gradually dwindling, the "masking" effect slowly fades away. Then other pigments that have been present (along with the chlorophylls) in the cells all during the leaf's life begin to show through. These are carotenoids and they provide colorations of yellow, brown, orange, and the many hues in between.

The carotenoids occur, along with the chlorophyll pigments, in tiny structures called plastids within the cells of leaves. Sometimes they are in such abundance in the leaf that they give a plant a yellow-green color, even during the summer. Usually, however, they become prominent for the first time in autumn, when the leaves begin to lose their chlorophyll.

Carotenoids are common in many living things, giving characteristic color to carrots, corn, canaries, and daffodils, as well as egg yolks, rutabagas, buttercups, and bananas.

• Europe
• UK
• Britain
• England
• East Midlands
• Leicestershire
• Market Harborough
• Countryside
• Yellow
• Farndon Fields
• Autumn
• Fall color
• Autumn colour

• Nikon Capture NX 2