Plantwatch: when do trees lose their leaves?

Unlike for spring, there are surprisingly few long-running records that document the onset of autumn in the natural worldThe annual Remembrance Sunday service was held at the Cenotaph in London more than a week ago, and what caught the headlines was the Queen looking on from a balcony for the first time. Less attention was paid to the London plane trees lining Whitehall, which were still full of green leaves despite recent storms and frosts. Maybe this seems unremarkable these days, but the trees are an impressive sign of how autumn seems to be coming later in the year, probably thanks in large part to autumns growing warmer. Continue reading...