Appalachian State University ‘s Fall Color Report for Week for September 6, 2015
The word for this week is …. “green”. Although this is the Labor Day weekend, the plants are still laboring and by that, I mean still doing photosynthesis and converting carbon dioxide into sugars and starches. However, there are a few plants that have started to turn early, so if you come to the High Country in the next few weeks, you’ll be able to see a little color. But for now, the hillsides are still dominated by the color green.
The main turning plants are some maples (just a few though), and huckleberries (on the rock outcrops mainly) and some sassafras which are showing orange and red coloration. Most everything else is still green. I did see a Viburnum beginning to turn its usual deep orange, but it was an isolated occurrence, and although I saw one patch of red Galax, all the rest were still deep green.
It’s been warm during the days while the mornings have been cool. These are near perfect conditions for a good fall color season. I’ve noticed a few tulip poplars showing some yellow, which may indicate some effect of the earlier dry period that we had in July, and our dogwoods continue to deepen their burgundy red leaves even more. But everything else looks great, and so at this point in time, I’m optimistic that we should have good fall leaf color in October. I’ll post an album of my best pictures from today’s hike on the Beacon Heights trail. This is a short, but highly recommended trail, right off the Blue Ridge Parkway east of Grandfather Mountain. The rock outcrops afford great views of the forests in the Wilson Creek drainage to the east and there are abundant witch hazel, one of the few plants that flowers in the fall. So, until next week, enjoy the rest of your Labor Day Holiday!
Natural History Wanderings 
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