Natural History Wanderings

Great Smoky Mountains Association has a fall color update for September 7:

This week’s warm, wet weather has slowed the march of fall colors in the Great Smoky Mountains. Still, sourwood trees on the drier slopes are showing some early pink and crimson colors. Witch-hobble leaves at the higher elevations are mostly burgundy now. Blackgum trees are just beginning to blush red. Fruits, such as the fuchsia seed pods of magnolia trees and oak acorns are now conspicuous

.By late September look for more color at the higher elevations as American beech and yellow birch trees transition to gold. Early changers at the lower elevations like sourwood, blackgum, dogwood, yellow buckeye, Virginia creeper, sumacs, and tuliptree should then be near peak. Parkwide, the peak of fall colors generally occurs between late October and early November. When the next cold snap arrives in a couple of days, we should have a better read on whether autumn will be early this year or not.

Follow Reports at  Fall Leaf Color Updates | Great Smoky Mountains Association.