What purpose does a fallen leaf serve? Its time as beautiful fall foliage has ended. It’s no longer claimed by the tree that grew it, and now it simply sits on the ground. Does that make it garbage? I ...

Behind every autumn leaf lies a chemical shift-chlorophyll fading, carotenoids glowing, anthocyanins rising-that turns survival into spectacle. Every autumn, landscapes across much of the world ...

This is the time of year when Nicole Hughes gets constantly distracted by the fall foliage as she drives around North Carolina. "I'm always looking," says Hughes, a biologist at High Point University.