Trees
The trees that make the colour: fifteen species and two conifer groups of the Northeast, Quebec and Ontario
Pictures of each tree through its season are to come.
The order of the season
Across the region the trees turn in much the same order every year, even as the whole calendar slides with latitude, height and weather. The season opens in the wet places in late August, with the first scarlet branches of blackgum and the stunted red maples of the swamps; September brings the dogwoods and the sumac, the red maples spread from the swamps onto drier ground through September and into October, and white ash, purple-bronze, is one of the first trees to peak and among the first to stand bare. The main peak belongs to sugar maple, with the yellows of birch, aspen, striped maple and beech mixed through it: late September and early October in the north and on the heights, middle to late October farther south. The oaks come after the maples have dropped their leaves, russet and brown, with beech fading to tan beside them, and tamarack closes the season in the bogs, gold into early November.
Pennsylvania's foresters put the order in four sentences that hold across the region: “The timing of the color change varies by species. Blackgum begins to show brilliant scarlet branches in late August and the related dogwood is draped in brick-red by midSeptember. Maples become red and orange in late September and early October. But oaks only put on their colors long after maples have shed their leaves.” [DCNR]
Eighteen years of one observer's records at Harvard Forest agree: “Peak color was earliest for Prunus serotina, Acer rubrum and Fraxinus americana, and latest for Acer saccharum and the various Quercus spp.” [ARCH] And at the far end of the season, from SUNY ESF: “Evergreens, while they provide superb contrast, of course play no direct role, but one native conifer (i.e., cone-bearing tree), the eastern larch or tamarack, is probably the last tree species to turn color (golden yellow) in upstate New York and the Adirondacks.” [ESF-2]
Two things about colour hold for every tree below. The yellows come back every year, while the reds depend on the weather, so a poor year shows first in the maples. And the forest's colour is a mix, which is why SUNY ESF's Donald Leopold singles out two kinds of forest: “Northern hardwoods and oak-hickory are the generally the most colorful forest types in the autumn, especially the northern hardwoods type, in which one of the most beautiful trees in autumn anywhere, the sugar maple, is a dominant tree.” [ESF-2] In Vermont that northern hardwood forest is most of the state: “Maple/beech/birch is the dominant forest type group, covering 71 percent of the forest land (Fig. 3).” [VTFIA]
Sugar maple, Acer saccharum
Colours: orange, red, yellow. The orange-red that makes the Northeast's name, with leaves that stay yellow in shade and redden in sun, so one crown can show all three.
When it turns: With the main peak of the season, after the swamp red maples and white ash and before the oaks.
Observations by date:
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, middle to late October [HF]
- Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania, 10 to 20 October [DCNR]
- Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario (the sugar maple forest), average peak 27 September; 15 September to 9 October since 1973 [FOAP]
How long it holds: The sources below give no figure for how long a sugar maple holds its colour. The nearest figure is for the trees in one camera’s view rather than for one species: the camera at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, in the lower Hudson valley, saw them go from peak colour to bare in about eleven days in 2020 and about nine in 2021, as Columbia’s Climate School reported on September 26, 2022.
Where it grows thickest: The most numerous tree in Vermont, about a fifth of New York's forest trees, common across Ontario's Great Lakes and St. Lawrence forest and the southern third of Quebec; in Pennsylvania it reaches south on the high plateaus of the Laurel Highlands.
By height: Up to about 760 m (2,500 ft) in northern New England and New York; in Algonquin it holds the mid-slopes.
From the road: A big tree with a dense oval crown on fertile slopes and along roads and farm edges, glowing orange with yellow inside the crown and red on its sunny side; its leaves have five smooth-edged lobes, where red maple's are toothed.
In the sources' words:
A large and common tree of our roadsides and cool forests on fertile sites. Its opposite leaves with wavy edges and characteristic maple shape turn varying luminous shades of yellow to orange and red from middle to late October.
There is a big reason why New England foliage, and that of Vermont in particular, are renown world-wide: the sugar maple tree.
During foliage, their leaves run the spectrum of color, with leaves that stay yellow in full shade and turn hues of red in the sun.
Most red maples, sugar maples, black cherries, and sweet birches peak around October 10-20.
Sugar Maples typically display red/orange in the mid-slope areas where they are found in Algonquin Park.
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) continues to be the most numerous tree in Vermont (Table 2), and sugar maple volume has remained stable since 2010 (Fig. 5).
In fact, about 20% of all the forest trees in New York are sugar maple.
Sugar maple is a common tree in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence and Deciduous forest regions.
However, the Laurel Highlands’ uniquely elevated terrain brings some of the northern hardwood forest species, like sugar maple, into southern Pennsylvania which creates a diverse splash of color in the fall.
The northern limit of sugar maple (figs. 1, 2) nearly parallels the 35th mean annual isotherm extending eastward from the extreme southeast corner of Manitoba, through central Ontario, the southern third of Quebec and all of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
In northern New England and New York State it grows at elevations up to 760 m (2,500 ft.).
Red maple leaves are more toothed, while the lobes on sugar maples have smoother edges.
Medium to tall tree (to 100 feet) with very dense elliptical crown.
Red maple, Acer rubrum
Colours: scarlet, red, yellow, orange. Brilliant scarlet, though in Algonquin's observation the female trees turn a yellow-orange while the males give the brightest reds.
When it turns: The first big colour of the season in swamps and wet lowlands, from late August, and with the main peak on drier ground; it drops its leaves early.
Observations by date:
- Wetlands of central New York (I-81, Tully to Preble), late August to early September [ESF-2]
- Adirondacks, mid to late September [ESF-2]
- Central New York, third week of October [ESF-2]
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, September into October [HF]
- Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania, some 1 to 10 October, most 10 to 20 October [DCNR]
How long it holds: Short: at Harvard Forest half its leaves are down, on average, 23 days before northern red oak's.
Where it grows thickest: Everywhere in the region, most of all in New England and the Middle Atlantic states; on swamp borders it grows in almost pure stands, and in Ontario it keeps to wetter ground than sugar maple.
By height: From swamps to dry ridges and upper slopes: the Silvics chapter judges that it can probably thrive across a wider range of soils, moisture and elevation than any other North American forest tree.
From the road: Scarlet crowns in swamps, wet roadsides and valley bottoms weeks before the hills; smooth light grey bark on young trees, toothed leaves with red stalks, and red twigs.
In the sources' words:
Maples differ by species — red maple turns brilliant scarlet, sugar maple glows orange-red and black maple a rich yellow.
These two common species can sport a number of colours with male Red Maples delivering the brightest reds, often with individual trees seemingly ablaze with brilliant red leaves. The female Red Maples in contrast display a bright yellow/orange hue unlike the males.
Its opposite maple-shaped leaves with toothed edges turn varying shades of yellow to dark red from September into October.
In fact, the wetlands on either side of I-81 from Tully to Preble are packed with stunted red maples that reach their peak fall color in late August to early September.
The Red Maple, also called White Maple, Soft Maple, or Swamp Maple, has already begun turning red, especially in some of the lower, wetter spots along roadways and in the valleys.
The interspecific variability of autumn stages is illustrated with the example of 50% leaf fall, which occurs on average 23 days earlier in Acer rubrum than in Quercus rubra (Figure 2b).
Red maple (figs. 1, 2) is one of the most abundant and widespread trees in eastern North America (26).
Red maple can probably thrive on a wider range of soil types, textures, moisture, pH, and elevation than any other forest species in North America (18).
The red maple is most common in New England, Middle Atlantic States, upper Michigan, and northeast Wisconsin.
In upper Michigan and New England, red maple grows on ridge tops and dry sandy or rocky upland soils and in almost pure stands on moist soils and swamp borders
It is often found on wetter sites than sugar maple and is known for its brilliant red leaves in autumn.
The leaf stalk and twigs also have a reddish color.
On young trees, smooth and light gray, with age becomes darker and breaks up into long, fine scaly plates.
Striped maple (moosewood), Acer pensylvanicum
Colours: pale yellow. A pale, nearly colourless yellow in the understory, the softest colour among the maples.
When it turns: With the main peak, beneath the canopy.
Observations by date:
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, mid-October [HF]
How long it holds: No species-specific figure in the sources read.
Where it grows thickest: The cool northern hardwood forests of the mountains; in Vermont it is among the most numerous saplings.
By height: Best between about 550 and 800 m (1,800 to 2,600 ft) in the New England mountains, gone above about 830 to 860 m in the White Mountains.
From the road: A small tree of the understory with green bark striped in white and large three-lobed leaves like a goose's foot, a pale yellow layer under the maples on mountain roads.
In the sources' words:
But the little striped maple becomes almost colorless.
A small shade-tolerant tree often found in the understory of cool forests, with distinctive long white stripes on its green bark. Its large opposite and shallowly-lobed toothed leaves turn yellow in mid-October.
In the mountainous areas of New England, it develops best at elevations between 550 and 800 m (1,800 and 2,600 ft)
It dropped out completely between elevations of 830 and 860 m (2,720 and 2,820 ft).
American beech (Fagus grandifolia) is the most numerous sapling followed by balsam fir, sugar maple, striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum), red maple (Acer rubrum), and red spruce (Picea rubens).
When young, smooth gray-green with prominent white lengthwise stripes, older bark becomes reddish brown.
Paper birch (white birch), Betula papyrifera
Colours: bright yellow. Clear bright yellow over white trunks.
When it turns: No source below dates paper birch on its own; Harvard Forest dates its close relative gray birch to mid-October, with the main peak.
Observations by date:
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts (gray birch, Betula populifolia), mid-October [HF]
How long it holds: No species-specific figure in the sources read.
Where it grows thickest: Common throughout Ontario and across the north of the region; in New England more on dry sites than wet, and in nearly pure stands where it has seeded in after fire or logging.
By height: Found in all the habitats described for the White Mountains; its heart-leaved variety keeps to the upper slopes near treeline in the south of its range.
From the road: Chalky white trunks, often several from one base, under clear yellow crowns, frequently in pure patches on old burns and cuts.
In the sources' words:
Paper birch leaves turn a bright yellow in the fall.
paper and gray birch (yellow)
Because it does not grow in any shade it is found in recently disturbed sites and along forest edges and roadsides. Its leaves turn yellow in mid-October.
[HF] (gray birch (Betula populifolia), the close relative Harvard Forest dates)
They are commonly found in the mixed hardwood-conifer forests but may form nearly pure stands where they pioneer areas disturbed by fires or logging.
In New England, paper birch tends to be more abundant on the dry sites than on the wet or poorly drained soils (46,63).
The variety cordifolia in the east generally grows in the cooler habitats-upper elevations on mountains near tree line in the southern part of the range and on cooler north aspects and in depressions toward the northern part of its range.
White birch is a common tree found throughout Ontario. The smooth white paper-like bark is immediately recognizable, and the tree is sometimes referred to as "paper" birch.
Reddish brown with light lenticels on very young stems; later turning chalky to creamy white, peeling in horizontal papery strips; brown to black and may be furrowed at base; orange inner bark.
Yellow birch, Betula alleghaniensis
Colours: yellow. Yellow, scattered through the maples rather than in stands of its own.
When it turns: With the main peak.
Observations by date:
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, mid-October [HF]
How long it holds: No species-specific figure in the sources read.
Where it grows thickest: Cool, moist upland hardwood forest across northern New England, New York and Ontario's Great Lakes and St. Lawrence forest, usually mixed with sugar maple, beech, hemlock and red spruce.
By height: Up to about 790 m (2,600 ft) on glacial till in the Green Mountains; it grows better low than high and on northeast-facing slopes than southwest.
From the road: Bronze to silvery-grey bark peeling in thin curls, yellow crowns mixed among the maples and hemlocks on cool moist slopes.
In the sources' words:
A fairly common medium-sized tree often associated with hemlock in moist sites and swamp edges, with silver gray to yellow curly bark. Its alternate finely toothed leaves turn yellow in mid-October.
In the Green Mountains of Vermont birch grows on unstratified glacial till up to 792 m (2,600 ft) (109).
Here, thickness of the upper soil horizon as influenced by elevation and aspect have been used to estimate site index-birch grows better at lower elevations than higher elevations and on northeast aspects than southwest aspects.
Yellow birch is a common hardwood across the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence forest, preferring cool moist upland sites.
This mixed forest type is characterized by red spruce and yellow birch, or less often another hardwood (sugar maple, red maple, or beech).
Yellow birch is usually found singly or in small pure groups in mixtures with other species.
On younger stems shiny bronze (sometimes gray), peeling horizontally in thin, curly, papery strips; older trees develop red-brown scaly plates.
Quaking aspen (trembling aspen), Populus tremuloides
Colours: golden yellow. Golden yellow, often in even patches, since it spreads from its roots into dense stands.
When it turns: With the main peak in central Massachusetts, and among the last broadleaf trees to peak in central New York.
Observations by date:
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, mid-October [HF]
- Central New York, last week of October or later [ESF-2]
How long it holds: No species-specific figure in the sources read.
Where it grows thickest: Common throughout Ontario and across the north; the first tree onto burned, cut or cleared ground, so its patches mark younger forest.
By height: From sea level on the Maine coast to about 910 m (3,000 ft) near its northern limit.
From the road: Patches of one even gold along forest edges, road cuts and old fields, with smooth pale greenish-white bark and round leaves that shiver in the slightest wind.
In the sources' words:
quaking aspen (golden yellow)
Under average weather conditions in central New York, white ash is one of the first tree species to reach peak color in early fall; quaking aspen, Norway maple, and larches don’t reach their peak color until the last week of October or even later in central New York.
This small to medium-sized tree, which is intolerant of shade, spreads as root suckers, frequently forming dense stands on forest margins and road edges. Its alternate finely toothed roundish leaves move in gentle winds, inspiring its common name. The leaves turn yellow in mid-October.
Aspen spans an elevational range from sea level on both Atlantic (Maine) and Pacific (Washington) coasts to 3505 m (11,500 ft) in northern Colorado.
Near its northern limit, quaking aspen is found at elevations only up to 910 m (3,000 ft).
Poplar or trembling aspen is a common tree throughout Ontario. An early successional species, it is often the first tree to grow on a newly disturbed site.
At first smooth, creamy yellowish-white to very light green; later developing thick furrows and becoming dark, especially near the base.
Bigtooth aspen (largetooth aspen), Populus grandidentata
Colours: yellow, reddish orange. Yellow like its cousin, sometimes warming to a reddish orange.
When it turns: With the main peak.
Observations by date:
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, mid-October [HF]
How long it holds: No species-specific figure in the sources read.
Where it grows thickest: Disturbed ground, roadsides and sandy soils across the northeastern states and southeastern Canada.
By height: Most abundant between about 150 and 610 m (500 to 2,000 ft) on flat to gently rolling ground.
From the road: Like quaking aspen but with bigger, coarsely toothed leaves and olive-green to milky green young bark, often on roadsides and old fields.
In the sources' words:
bigtooth aspen (reddish orange)
A medium-sized tree that is common in disturbed areas and roadsides. Its alternate coarsely toothed leaves turn yellow (and occasionally reddish) in mid-October.
Although bigtooth aspen can grow at sea level and has been found at altitudes over 915 m (3,000 ft) in North Carolina, it is most abundant and develops best on flat to gently rolling terrain of floodplains or lower slopes of the uplands between 150 to 610 m (500 to 2,000 ft) in altitude.
Big-tooth aspen (fig. 1) is native to northeastern and north-central United States and southeastern Canada.
It is most abundant on sands, loamy sands, and light sandy loams, but it is found as a single tree or minor stand component on any soil, from rock outcrops to heavy clays.
Thin, gray, olive-green to milky green and smooth on young stems; later gray-brown, ridged with diamond shaped lenticels and splits forming.
American beech, Fagus grandifolia
Colours: golden yellow, bronze, light tan. Gold to bronze in mid-autumn, fading to a pale tan that many trees keep through the winter.
When it turns: Yellow in mid-October in central Massachusetts and at its best in late October in Pennsylvania's highlands, after most maples.
Observations by date:
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, yellow in mid-October [HF]
- Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania, 20 to 30 October [DCNR]
- Killbear Provincial Park, Georgian Bay, Ontario, keeps the park's colour strong through October [OP-TRACKER]
How long it holds: Long: many leaves, especially on young trees, stay on the branches after they brown, often until spring.
Where it grows thickest: The northern hardwood forest with sugar maple and yellow birch; in Vermont it is the most numerous sapling, and in the Adirondacks, where deer pass it over, it fills the understory.
By height: Low elevations in the north: held below about 980 m (3,200 ft) in the Adirondacks by cold and wind.
From the road: Smooth grey bark even on the biggest trunks, often in thickets of root suckers, gold and bronze in October, then pale tan leaves hanging on in a bare November woods.
In the sources' words:
Oaks turn red, brown, or russet; hickories show golden bronze; aspen and yellow-poplar, golden yellow; dogwood, purplish red; beech, light tan; and sourwood and black tupelo, crimson.
American beech (brownish-bronze)
Its alternate coarsely toothed leaves turn yellow in mid-October and many are retained especially on smaller trees, even after they turn brown.
Tannin pigments contribute to the subdued browns of oaks and help enrich the yellows of beeches.
Colours usually peak around Thanksgiving weekend but stay surprisingly strong throughout October due to the golden glow of the American Beech trees.
Red oaks, white oaks, chestnut oaks, yellow poplars, and beeches peak around October 20-30.
We often observe this occurrence with members of the fagaceae (beech family), including American beech (Fagus americana) and some oaks (Quercus spp.).
In the Adirondacks of New York, low temperatures and wind keep beech below 980 m (3,200 ft), in contrast to the southern mountains where on the warmer slopes it grows at elevations up to 1830 m (6,000 ft).
In the central Adirondacks, however, continual browsing of sugar maple allows American beech, which the deer avoid, to dominate northern hardwood understories (54).
The bark is smooth, thin, and gray in color even on the largest stems. Beech bark diseases severely deforms the smooth bark.
Northern red oak, Quercus rubra
Colours: red, russet, brown. Red to russet, then brown, late in the season; Connecticut's extension counts it among the best reds.
When it turns: After the maples have dropped their leaves: late October into early November.
Observations by date:
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, late October to early November [HF]
- Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania, 20 to 30 October [DCNR]
How long it holds: Long: young trees often keep their brown leaves through the winter, and at Harvard Forest its leaves fall, on average, more than three weeks after red maple's.
Where it grows thickest: The oak and hickory forests of southern New York, southern New England and the valleys and side slopes of Pennsylvania; the most common oak in Ontario; the only native oak reaching Nova Scotia; on Algonquin's dry hilltops.
By height: The Silvics chapter gives no northeastern upper limit; in Algonquin it holds the dry hilltops.
From the road: Broad crowns on dry ridges and hilltops that stay green while the maples flame, then turn russet and brown once the maples are bare; bark in long flat-topped ridges like ski tracks.
In the sources' words:
This large tree is very common in these forests. Its alternate sharply-pointed oak-shaped leaves turn red and then brown from late October to early November. Small trees often retain brown leaves through the winter.
But oaks only put on their colors long after maples have shed their leaves.
Those that produce the best reds include red and sugar maple, red oak, dogwood, and mountain ash (not a true ash).
Peak color was earliest for Prunus serotina, Acer rubrum and Fraxinus americana, and latest for Acer saccharum and the various Quercus spp.
Northern red oak (fig. 1) is the only native oak extending northeast to Nova Scotia.
Native oaks in Ontario include red, white and black oak, red being the most common.
The valleys, lower elevations, and side slopes are covered with the oak-hickory forest type which consists of northern red oak, red maple, black oak, white oak, chestnut oak, hickory, sweet birch, white ash, American beech, and yellow poplar.
Hilltops in Algonquin are often home to trees that can tolerate drier conditions such as Red Pine and Red Oak.
If the burning colors of the northern hardwood type are too much, check out the various reds, bronzes, rich browns, golds, and yellows of the oak-hickory forest, especially prominent in the southern half of the state.
On young stems, smooth; older bark develops wide, flat-topped ridges and shallow furrows. The shallow furrows form a pattern resembling ski tracts.
White oak, Quercus alba
Colours: brick red, reddish brown, brown. Dull to brick red going to reddish brown, late in the season.
When it turns: The second half of October in central Massachusetts, with the other oaks.
Observations by date:
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, second half of October [HF]
- Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania, 20 to 30 October [DCNR]
How long it holds: Oaks keep dead brown leaves into winter more than most trees do (see red oak); no white-oak figure in the sources read.
Where it grows thickest: The low country of the south of the region: southwestern Maine, southern New England, New York's lowlands and Pennsylvania, just reaching southern Quebec and southern Ontario.
By height: Seldom above 150 m (500 ft) in the north of its range and absent from the high mountains of New York and New England.
From the road: Whitish, ashy grey bark in scales and plates, leaves with rounded finger-like lobes, and a dull brick red late in October in the lowlands of the south.
In the sources' words:
This is a large and rather common tree in these forests. Its alternate leaves have distinctively round lobes unlike the pointed lobes of red and scarlet oaks. The foliage turns a dull to brick-red in the second half of October.
white and red oaks (reddish brown)
It is found from southwestern Maine and extreme southern Quebec, west to southern Ontario, central Michigan, to southeastern Minnesota; south to western Iowa, eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas; east to northern Florida and Georgia.
It is found at all altitudes in the central and southern parts of its range, but it is seldom found above 150 m (500 ft) in elevation in the northern part of its range.
It is excluded from the high Appalachians in New York and New England; but it is a scrub tree at elevations of 1370 m (4,500 ft) in the southern Appalachians (28).
Whitish or ashy gray, varying from scaly on smaller stems to irregularly platy or blocky on large stems. On older trees smooth patches are not uncommon.
Shagbark hickory, Carya ovata
Colours: golden yellow, golden bronze. Yellow-gold to golden bronze.
When it turns: Hickory gets no date from any source below.
How long it holds: No species-specific figure in the sources read.
Where it grows thickest: The oak and hickory forests of the south of the region, from southern Maine and southern Quebec and Ontario southward.
By height: No northeastern figure in the Silvics chapter.
From the road: Bark breaking into long plates that curl away from the trunk, a shaggy look readable at a distance, under golden crowns of five-leaflet leaves.
In the sources' words:
hickories (yellow-gold)
Oaks turn red, brown, or russet; hickories show golden bronze; aspen and yellow-poplar, golden yellow; dogwood, purplish red; beech, light tan; and sourwood and black tupelo, crimson.
Shagbark hickory (figs. 1,2) is found throughout most of the Eastern United States from southeastern Nebraska and southeastern Minnesota through southern Ontario and southern Quebec to southern Maine, southward to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and eastern Texas, and disjunctly in the mountains of northeastern Mexico.
At first smooth and gray, later broken into long, wide plates attached at the middle, curving away from the trunk resulting in a coarsely shaggy appearance.
White ash, Fraxinus americana
Colours: purple, bronze, yellow. Yellow going to a purple-bronze that is rare among forest trees: Maine's foresters list only white ash and witch hazel as purple.
When it turns: One of the first trees to peak, early to mid-October in central Massachusetts, and among the first bare.
Observations by date:
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, early to mid-October [HF]
- Central New York, one of the first to peak in early fall [ESF-2]
How long it holds: Short, and shorter in warm autumns: at Harvard Forest its full display was cut short in years with warmer autumn temperatures.
Where it grows thickest: Scattered through the hardwood forests of the whole region, never dominant, often near streams and on old farmland; in Ontario more common in the south, where emerald ash borer has done the most harm.
By height: Up to about 600 m (1,970 ft) in the Adirondacks.
From the road: Purple-bronze crowns among still-green maples early in the season, bark of corky ridges in diamonds, and opposite feather-like leaves; one of the first trees bare.
In the sources' words:
white ash (purple-red-orange)
This is a large and handsome tree of our forests, often found near streams. Its opposite compound leaves turn from yellow to purple-brown in early to mid-October.
Under average weather conditions in central New York, white ash is one of the first tree species to reach peak color in early fall; quaking aspen, Norway maple, and larches don’t reach their peak color until the last week of October or even later in central New York.
As a consequence, the duration of the full display of autumn color (d90) was reduced in years with warmer autumn temperatures.
Purple: White ash and witch hazel
A very high percentage of the trees that naturally colonized these exhausted farmlands are some of the best for fall color, e.g., sugar maple, white ash, and quaking and bigtooth aspens.
White ash (Fraxinus americana), also called Biltmore ash or Biltmore white ash, is the most common and useful native ash but is never a dominant species in the forest.
White ash is more common in the south on drier sites. Ash in Ontario has been impacted dramatically by emerald ash borer over the past few years, especially in the southwest.
Ashy gray to brown in color, with interlacing corky ridges forming obvious diamonds; older trees may be scaly.
Blackgum (black tupelo), Nyssa sylvatica
Colours: scarlet, crimson, wine red, purple. Deep scarlet to wine red and purple, among the richest reds of the season.
When it turns: Among the earliest reds, with scarlet branches from late August, and at its best in early October.
Observations by date:
- Pennsylvania, first scarlet branches in late August [DCNR]
- Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania, 1 to 10 October [DCNR]
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, early to mid-October [HF]
How long it holds: No species-specific figure in the sources read.
Where it grows thickest: Swamps and wet ground in the south of the region, from southwestern Maine through New York and Pennsylvania to extreme southern Ontario; locally abundant but infrequent overall.
By height: No northeastern figure in the Silvics chapter; in the region it keeps to swamps and their edges.
From the road: A narrow crown with branches at right angles to a straight trunk, wine red in swamps while the hills are green, and blocky bark like alligator hide on old trees.
In the sources' words:
Blackgum begins to show brilliant scarlet branches in late August and the related dogwood is draped in brick-red by midSeptember.
Black gums and some red maples peak around October 1-10.
A narrow-crowned tree with right-angle branches that is restricted to swamps and adjacent areas in our region. Its leaves are small, oval and alternate, and the handsome foliage turns orange to wine-red in early to mid-October.
Some other outstanding trees for fall color are rather infrequent statewide, but may be locally abundant, like blackgum, which few people ever notice until mid October while travelling by swampy areas throughout central New York.
Black tupelo (figs. 1, 2) grows in the uplands and in alluvial stream bottoms from southwestern Maine to New York, to extreme southern Ontario, central Michigan, Illinois, and central Missouri, and south to eastern Oklahoma, eastern Texas, and southern Florida.
Gray-brown and shallowly, irregularly furrowed, on old stems it can become quite blocky, resembling alligator hide.
Staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina
Colours: scarlet, red, orange. Scarlet to red-orange, among the brightest colours of the year.
When it turns: Red through the whole autumn, from the first colour of the season onward.
Observations by date:
- Harvard Forest, central Massachusetts, throughout the autumn months [HF]
How long it holds: Long by Harvard Forest's account, which has it red throughout the autumn months; no figure in days.
Where it grows thickest: Old fields, forest openings and roadsides across the upstate and New England, in clumps from root suckers; a shrub, absent from the Forest Service's species maps.
By height: No figure in the sources read; it follows open ground, not height.
From the road: A shrub or small tree in spreading clumps along road edges and old fields, its long feather-like leaves on fuzzy stems turning scarlet.
In the sources' words:
Staghorn sumac (scarlet-red-orange) and gray dogwood (purple-red) are especially prominent in old fields throughout the upstate.
This tall shrub or small tree forms clumps from root suckers in fields, forest openings and along roadsides. Its alternate feather-compound leaves turn brilliant red throughout the autumn months.
Some mixtures give rise to the reddish and purplish fall colors of trees such as dogwoods and sumacs, while others give the sugar maple its brilliant orange.
A shrub or small tree to 25 feet, with a short, often poorly formed trunk and wide spreading very open crown. Branches repeatedly and widely fork.
Tamarack (eastern larch), Larix laricina
Colours: golden yellow. Golden yellow needles, the one conifer that turns and drops them.
When it turns: Probably the last tree of the season to turn, late October into early November, after the hardwoods are bare.
Observations by date:
- Upstate New York and the Adirondacks, the last tree species to turn [ESF-2]
- Cicero Swamp, central New York, late October through early November [ESF-2]
- Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, gold with the poplars on 17 October 2016 (a photograph's date) [FOAP]
How long it holds: Until its needles fall, late in the autumn; no figure in days.
Where it grows thickest: Bogs and wet ground throughout the region, more common northward and through Ontario, where it grows with black spruce; in Canada's boreal forest it forms pure stands.
By height: The Silvics chapter says it grows at about the same elevation throughout most of its range: it follows wet ground, not height.
From the road: A narrow, open conifer in bogs and swamps that turns gold and drops its needles after the hardwoods around it are bare.
In the sources' words:
Evergreens, while they provide superb contrast, of course play no direct role, but one native conifer (i.e., cone-bearing tree), the eastern larch or tamarack, is probably the last tree species to turn color (golden yellow) in upstate New York and the Adirondacks.
The portion that burned over 100 years ago in the north center area of the swamp is now a black spruce/tamarack forest with thousands of golden tamarack in late October through early November, and many other colorful wetland trees and shrubs (including poison-sumac!) from mid September through early November).
This medium-sized coniferous tree is intolerant of shade, and is mostly found in swamps and other wet areas. It is unusual because, although it is a conifer, it is not an evergreen. Its short needles are produced in whorls, and all of them turn yellow in the late autumn and fall from the tree.
Golden colours of poplar species (background) and Tamarack (foreground) on October 17, 2016 at Ring-necked Pond in Algonquin Park (click to enlarge).
Larch, or tamarack, is found throughout Ontario, but is more common in the north. This coniferous tree has needles that turn yellow in autumn and drop off. Although larch grows on many sites, it prefers swamps or wet organic soils, and is usually associated with black spruce.
Tamarack grows on sites with about the same elevation throughout most of its range.
Tamarack forms extensive pure stands in the boreal region of Canada and in northern Minnesota.
Deciduous, flat needle, light green, appear in spirals on spur shoots after first year, 3/4 to 1 inch long, turn yellow in the fall.
Balsam fir and red spruce (the dark green of the heights and the north), Abies balsamea; Picea rubens
Colours: dark green. Dark green all year, the backdrop that makes the high slopes and the far north read darker at peak.
When it turns: They do not turn.
How long it holds: Evergreen.
Where it grows thickest: The upper slopes of the Whites, Greens and Adirondacks, Maine (where, by the Maine Forest Service's fact sheet of 2000, 58 per cent of the forest is softwood) and Canada's boreal forest; red spruce reaches from the Maritimes and southern Quebec to New York and northern Pennsylvania.
By height: In the White Mountains red spruce is well represented from about 790 to 1010 m (2,600 to 3,300 ft) and balsam fir predominates above 1220 m (4,000 ft), growing to within about 20 m of Mount Washington's summit.
From the road: Narrow, spire-like dark crowns that fill the high slopes above the coloured hardwood band and the shores of northern lakes.
In the sources' words:
Most of the conifers - pines, spruces, firs, hemlocks, cedars, etc. - are evergreen in both the North and South.
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire, balsam fir is the predominant species above 1220 m (4,000 ft) but red spruce is well represented from about 790 to 1010 m (2,600 to 3,300 ft) (27).
In the northern part of its range, red spruce (fig. 2) grows at elevations from near sea level to about 1370 m (4,500 ft) (22).
The range of red spruce (fig. 1) extends from the Maritime Provinces of Canada west to Maine, southern Quebec, and southeastern Ontario, and south into central New York, eastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, and Massachusetts.
At this elevation prostrate balsam fir is found in sheltered areas (1).
Are almost evenly split with 58% of the forest softwoods or conifers and the remaining 42% hardwoods or deciduous trees.
Shoreline areas are mostly covered by conifers such as Eastern White Cedar and Balsam Fir, thus showing a primarily green colour.
Balsam fir is a small to medium sized tree reaching 80 feet tall with a very narrow, spire-like crown.
Eastern white pine and eastern hemlock (the green between, lower down), Pinus strobus; Tsuga canadensis
Colours: green, yellow-brown inner needles on white pine. Green all year, though each autumn a third to a half of a white pine's needles turn yellow-brown and drop.
When it turns: They do not turn as a whole; white pine sheds its older needles in autumn.
How long it holds: Evergreen.
Where it grows thickest: The lower country of the whole region: white pine on sandy soils and old fields from Maine (the Pine Tree State) to Pennsylvania and through central and southern Ontario, hemlock in gullies, by swamps and on north-facing slopes.
By height: White pine from sea level to about 460 m (1,500 ft) in New England and New York, occasionally higher; the Silvics chapter gives hemlock a range from sea level to about 730 m (2,400 ft) in the northeast.
From the road: Tall white pines with wispy, upturned branches standing above the coloured canopy, and dense dark hemlock in gullies and on north slopes, the green that frames the colour.
In the sources' words:
Conifers provide the green backdrop during the autumn color changes in New England forests. These are principally white pine and hemlock, although other pines may be introduced in plantations.
This large evergreen tree is very common in forests throughout this region. It has five needles in each cluster. Each autumn, one-third to one-half of its needles turn yellow-brown and drop.
This large evergreen tree has short single flat needles and is very tolerant of shade. It is common around swamps, in gullies and on north-facing slopes. It drops a small percentage of its needles in the autumn.
In New England and New York, white pine generally grows at elevations between sea level and 460 m (1,500 ft), occasionally higher.
In New England, white pine frequently pioneers on abandoned agricultural land but only on the well-drained to excessively drained deposits-outwash, sandy tills, and shallow bedrock.
The abundance and value of eastern white pine, Pinus strobes L., in Maine has caused it to be known as the Pine Tree State.
White pine is Ontario's provincial tree and is common throughout central and southern Ontario.
North facing slopes in the Sugar Maple forest can sometimes be green from large Hemlock stands, or the green of an occasional giant White Pine towering above the reds and oranges of the Sugar Maples.
A large tree with a very straight trunk often reaching well over 100 feet in height. The crown is conical when young, later developing wispy, horizontal, upturning branches.
A medium sized tree with a dense, conical crown, fine branches and a drooping terminal shoot reaching up to 80 feet tall, typically a poor natural pruner.