According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture some plants do not have different pigments available in their foliage and shrivel up and die when fall arrives. The red maple has large amounts of anthocyanins within its leaves meaning that in the fall the foliage becomes a scarlet red. In contrast, the Beech has larger amounts of the pigment cartenoids making its foliage change from green in the spring and summer to a light tan color in the fall. The beech pigment appears to be idaein mixed with a small proportion of chrysanthemin. The leaves of copper Beech (Fagus sylvatica var purpurea) have chlorophyll for photosynthesis, but pigments of other colours, such as the red pigment anthocyanin, mask the green colour. The plant’s ability to produce a greater than normal quantity of anthocyanin is hereditary.