INRS State Scientific Surveys
Trees need food just like you. They make their own. The leaves do the cooking.
All they need is water, air, and sunshine.
Little Green Food Factories
When leaves are green, they are making food. They take in air. They mix in water
sent up from the roots. They use the heat from the sun to cook their dinner.
Pipelines in Pipelines
Inside every tree there are hollow pipes. The roots use some of these pipes to send
water to the leaves. The leaves use some of these pipes to send food to the rest of
the tree. Every year a tree grows more pipes. To us they look like rings in the
wood.
How Trees Drink
Trees drink with their roots. Underground, under every tree, there is a root system that extends two to four times further than the branches of the tree. The part of the tree you can't see is bigger than the
part you can! Trees have more
roots than they have branches. Attached to every root are tiny root hairs which have beneficial fungi growing on and in them (mycorrhizae). They act like miniature straws to draw up water and nutrients. That mixture is sent up the pipeline to the leaves. Roots also receive food from the pipeline so they can grow.
Next lesson - Bugs, Beavers, Birch Trees, and Bluebirds