One of the greatest shows in the natural world occurs yearly in the forests and fields across the US in the Fall season. Although the Eastern of the United States are most well-known for the fall colors, the Midwest states also have a spectacular display of the beauty and diversity of nature every years. Specially this year, the fall colors in Missouri are as beautiful as any other places in the US.

The largest factor to make leaves change color in the autumn is photoperiodism (the length of day and night). As the nights get longer in the Fall, the process of senescence becomes apparent through color change and the falling of leaves, leading the tree into it's winter dormancy. .

In preparing for winter, plants start a process called senescence. Most notable in this process is the destruction of the chlorophyll which has been responsible for the green color of the leaves. As the photoperiod decreases, the plants ability to synthesize chlorophyll becomes reduced, and yellow and orange carotinoids and xanthophylls, always present within the leaf, begin to show.

Water and nutrients are being drawn into the stems and away from the leaves. Additionally, senescing cells also produce other chemicals, particularly anthocyanins, responsible for red and purple colors. Some species, particularly the Oaks, contain high quantities of tannins in the leaves which are responsible for brown colors. Bright sunlight is essential for the production of the red (anthocyanin) pigment in the fall leaves: if a black mask is placed on part of a leaf before it turns red, the part of the leaf under the mask will turn yellow while the exposed part will turn red. Because of the difference in shade, temperature, sunlight..., different leaves has different colors (from yellow to dark red, brown) and make fall colors so beautiful.