Tree Leaves in the Summer

The Tree's Factory

Leaves sprout early in the spring and get right to work. You can think of them as the tree's factory since they capture energy, convert it, and produce something. They take sunlight, convert it into chemical energy, and then busily produce sugar all summer long.

The roots provide the minerals and water required to produce the sugar, which is then distributed throughout the entire tree, trunk, roots, branches, and fruit to develop tissuesor reserves.

This process, which is called photosynthesis, converts light energy into chemical energy. It takes places in tiny green grains in the cells of the leaf. There are so many of these tiny grains that the leaf appears to be green. These little grains are called chlorophyll. What color would leaves be if they had no chlorophyll?

The Tree's Lungs

Leaves also serve as the tree's lungs. A tree "breathes" air in through small openings on the underside of its leaves called stomata. What would happen if a tree couldn't breathe? Would it die?