It should be noted that autumn color may vary from year to year in every respect, and even from tree to tree of the same species. This list is by no means complete.
ACER CAMPESTRE The native field maple turns a good yellow; A. capillipes, deep crimson; A cappadocicum, yellow; A. circinatum, orange and crimson; A. davidii, variable, yellow and purple; A. ginnala, brilliant flaming scarlet; A. griseum, orange, bronze and fiery red; A. grosseri, also A. g. hersii, red and gold; A. japonicum, crimson and pink; A. negundo, clear yellow, early; A. nikoense, orange and red; A. pennsylvanicum, clear yellow; A. platanoides, clear yellow; A. rubrum, scarlet and yellow; A. rufinerve, crimson.
AMELANCHIER All cultivated species turn shades of red or russet.
BETULA Most birches turn shades of greenish yellow, but B. papyrifera is a good bright yellow.
CARYA Species usually cultivated turn a good yellow.
CERCIDIPHYLLUM JAPONICUM Variable, but can be brilliant in yellow and reds.
CYDONIA OBLONGA The leaves of the common quince turn a good yellow.
EUONYMUS SACHALINENSIS Yellow and red, early, with crimson fruits.
FAGUS The copper color of the British native beechwoods is glorious in autumn. FRAXINUS Most ashes turn shades of yellow before their leaves fall early in the season. F. oxycarpa `Raywood’, however, turns a distinctive purple.
GINKGO BILOBA The maidenhair tree turns a rich yellow.
GYMNOCLADUS DIOICUS The large leaves turn clear yellow.
LIQUIDAMBAR STYRACIFLUA Variable, but in good specimens can be brilliant, purple to scarlet.
LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA Leaves turn a good yellow.
MALUS Apples give little autumn leaf color, an exception being M. tschonoskii, on which the leaves turn yellow and scarlet.
MESPILUS GERMANICA The large leaves of the medlar turn russet color. NYSSA SYLVATICA The tupelo turns vivid scarlet.
PARROTIA PERSICA coloring reliable, yellow through gold to crimson.
PHELLODENDRON Species usually cultivated turn clear yellow.
PRUNUS This genus provides a few only species that color well, though the Japanese cultivars mostly turn good shades of yellow; P. avium, the gean, most years turns a flaming red; P. sargentii, infallibly turns a brilliant red early in autumn.
QUERCUS BOREALIS The red oak is rather a misnomer as the color is nearer to brown, but it can be effective. Q. coccinea, the well-named scarlet oak, retains its brilliant leaves far into the winter, the best form being the cultivar splendens. Q. palustris, leaves may turn scarlet, but not reliable; Q. phellos, yellow and orange; Q. velutina, var. rubrifolia is a good red.
RHUS TYPHINA Turns orange, red and purple.
SORBUS CASHMERIANA Pale gold, falling early. S. discolor, brilliant red; S. `Joseph Rock’, leaves turn a rich variety of colors; S. sargentiana, striking reds and golds; S. torminalis, the native wild service, colors in well in yellows and golds and sometimes scarlets.
STYRAX OBASSIA The large leaves turn a rich yellow.
