• Question: TREES WHY DO YOU HAVE LEAVES

    Asked by cope1tray78 on 16 Oct 2025.
    • Photo: Joy Kaye

      Joy Kaye answered on 16 Oct 2025:

      trees need leaves to generate energy for themselves using photosynthesis

    • Photo: Thomas Wells

      Thomas Wells answered on 17 Oct 2025:

      I have asked a tree and this is what they said.

      “I need light to make the sugars I need to feed myself. To get that light I need to do two things; be taller than everyone around me and also catch as much light as possible.

      To do this my ancestors evolved long narrow trunks to give me height and broad flat leaves that can catch the light. By being very wide and flat they have a lot of surface area without requiring too much energy to make.

      Because the leaves need to be able to breathe, they are much more sensitive to temperature than my trunk so in the autumn I will drop my leaves so they don’t freeze and damage me.

      Thank you for the nice question!”

    • Photo: Caroline Mullen

      Caroline Mullen answered on 17 Oct 2025:

      To collect the energy from sunlight, this energy is then trapped into sugars that can be stored to use when it is needed. Animals can then get those sugars when we eat plants (think about how sweet fruits are!)

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