sumac red

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Crimson is a shocking color. The color of birth and violent death.

The sumacs explode to life like a super nova: blood red, rich with the plant pigment anthocyanin. As the leaves unfurl they're pumped full of photosynthesizing green pigments: chlorophylls a and b. But early on, the newborn leaves are crimson with purple undertones like beets.

Anthocyanin also accounts for the red found in fruits and flowers.

Its basic chemical structure can be diagrammed like this. Looks simple enough if you are a chemist but does this rob anthocyanin of its impact?

Once we learned the mystery of the stars, did we stop looking up?

Attending a lecture on the science of stars, poet Walt Whitman walked out in disgust. He, for one, preferred to keep the mystery.

Perhaps he was right.

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