Akademik

(foh.lee.AWL.uh.gist)

n.

A person who is an expert on where and when tree leaves change color during the fall.

Like many residents at the Maple Inn bed and breakfast, Lindy was a leaf peeper, as fanatical about following the changing foliage in New England as birders are about stray Madagascan weeble-warblers on the Butt of Lewis.

A retired clinician from New Jersey with a sparkling intellect in inverse proportion to her dress sense, she had researched the subject thoroughly and had fall guides, fall maps and fall weather charts. "I phoned a fall foliologist a couple of times to make sure I was on the right track," she said. "You ever met a foliologist?"

—Neil McLean, "The rise of New England's fall," The Sunday Times (London), September 19, 2004

They first emerged in America — leafpeepers who flock to the woods in New England and the Appalachians to stalk the fast-changing autumnal colours.

There are even resident foliologists who plot routes for these enthusiasts with some useful hints such as 'don't get out of your car to pat a moose'.

—Donald Ross, "Tree cheers for nature lovers," Daily Mail, October 4, 2003

America's first "foliologist," Scotty Johnston, has announced predictions for the best color periods throughout the United States and Canada.

—"News & Notes," The Record, October 6, 1996