Fall colors

Most of the United States has already experienced their peak fall color display, but November is often our most colorful fall period. Admittedly our colors are muted compared to the Northern show, but we appreciate what we have.

I think drier falls are more colorful. October only had 0.15 inches of rain in my gauge. The temperatures also need to fluctuate to initiate fall colors and our recent recordings of temps going from the 40’s to the 80’s in a single day, qualifies as significant temperature fluctuations.

Red/orange Flaming Sumac leaves wins the prize for the most flamboyant local native plant. Other local colorful plants include Cedar Elms with yellowish green leaves, Crepe Myrtles leaves turn yellow/red/orange, and the Spanish Oaks leaves are tinged with rustred.

The Bald Cypress found along our local waterways is a conifer with flat needles that turn copper to reddish-brown in November before falling to the ground. If you go to a high local spot, such as up on Old Baldy, you can see where Cypress Creek and the Blanco are located in the distance by the distinctive ribbon of copper made by the Bald Cypress that line the waterways.

Another source of color is fall berries. Low lying Pigeon berries are bright red.

American Beauty Berry, an understory shrub, has bright magenta colored berries. Two local native tree/shrubs in the Holly family (Ilex) are now displaying bright red berries. One is Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) and the other is Possumhaw (Ilex decidua). As the Latin names indicate, Possumhaw loses its leaves but Yaupon is evergreen. Pyracantha berries turn bright orange in the fall.

Our fall landscape may not be as brilliant as that found in the Northern States, but we have our own fall beauty.

Written by Jackie Mattice, Hays County Master Naturalist