Poll-If you could be a leaf on any tree you wanted during the season of Fall what kind of tree would u b on?

Question

If you could be a leaf on any tree during the season of Fall, what kind of tree would you want to fall off of to the ground and why?

why aren't the leaves on the trees changing colors, how do they know when it's time for them to start falling off?5-10-08

Answer 1

I would like to be a leaf on an arbutus!  I don't know why, but I think that they are really pretty!  

As for why leaves change colours and fall off- it's got to do with some fun hormones.  As for how the hormones are regulated, that's a whole other bag of potatoes.  Uhhh, could be through photoperiod lengths, probably the most likely.  That's one thing that doesn't really change too much.  On the leaves there is a place called the abscision point- this is typically where the leaf falls off.  There is also something called abscisic acid- I can't remember if it actually has something to do with the leaves falling off.

Answer 2

This question is confusing because it's at least 3 questions.

1.If I HAD to fall off a tree, I'd like to be a pine needle.  Then I'd know my brothers and sisters who are still on the tree will live longer, through the winter and into next year and not die like me.

2.The leaves turn colors according to how much water and sunlight they get during the

summer season.

3. They don't actually "fall" off, but rather they are pushed off by the budding of next year's leaves. So the leaves which fall, don't have to know anything at all!