Why Trees Have Leaves: The Green Food Makers

Trees are big and strong. They stay in one place. They do not have mouths. They cannot walk to find food. How do trees eat?

Trees make their own food. Leaves are the food makers.

Look at a green tree leaf. The green color is special. It is called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll catches sunlight.

Trees need three things to make food. They need sunlight from the sky. They need water from the ground. They need air from the wind.

The leaves take in sunlight, water, and air. They mix them together. This mix makes sweet sugar. The sugar is food for the tree. The tree eats the sugar to grow big and tall.

Making food gives us a gift. When leaves make food, they make clean air, too. The air is called oxygen. People and animals need oxygen to breathe.

In spring and summer, leaves are green. They work hard to make food every day.

Autumn comes. The weather turns cold. There is less sunlight. Trees stop making food. The green color goes away. Leaves turn yellow, red, and brown. Then they fall to the ground.

Winter is a time for rest. Trees sleep without leaves. Spring returns. New green leaves grow. The food makers come back.

Trees give us shade. Trees give us wood. Trees give us clean air. It all starts with a green leaf.

What color are the leaves on your favorite tree today?