October 2022: Great maple [Acer pseudoplatanus] (Bergahorn): Our great maples turn yellow in autumn. There was only one short cold snap at the end of September in the series of warm and sunny days - and all the same the maple leaves start to turn yellow. I think it must - among other reasons - rather depend on daylength than on temperature: As soon as the nights were longer than the days the leaves started to show a shade of yellow. This tree was completely golden yellow in the upper part whereas the lower part already turned brown. Every puff of wind made some of the brown leaves fall down. Maple trees are quite common in our forests, they give hardwood for furniture, parquet, musical instruments and burning. It takes about 120 years for a trunk diameter of 60cm. A maple trunk can be worth many thousands of Swiss francs!
