xanthophyll
The chemical that causes yellow coloring. Almost all plants contain xanthophyll but typically the xanthophyll is covered up by more intense chlorophyll.
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XANTHOPHYLL
The yellow in plant leaves during the fall is caused by the presence of xanthophyll. Xantophylls are present throughout the growing season, though their yellow is masked by the green of chlorophyll.
-- , xanthophylls (yellow), and lycopene (pink to red).
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The color variation is genetically determined and depends on the presence of two classes of pigments: anthocyanins, which yield reds and purples, and xanthophylls, carotene derivatives that yield oranges and yellows.
it's decline, and temperatures drop below freezing, a signal is sent to the tree telling that it is time to stop producing food with its chlorophyll and allow a blend of pigments that have been present and patient all year, carotene and xanthophyll, ...
The green colouring is of course chlorophyll, but when that breaks down, the chemical that's remaining is anthocyanin which produces the red leaves. In yellow leaves, the remaining chemical is xanthophyll and if we had an orange leaf, ...
 See also: Carotene, Chlorophyll, Plant, Pigment, Growing
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