What do trees eat

Have you ever pulled out a plant? Those brown, muddy mazes of thread like extensions that come out from under are its roots. The roots not only stick the plant into the ground, they also absorb water and minerals from the soil. Imagine how big the roots of the tree near your house must be! Okay, so roots absorb the minerals. But the leaves are so far-away from the roots. How do the minerals reach them?

That brown or green pipe-like thing on which leaves and roots stick out is called a stem. This is what carries the minerals around. But do you know if there were no flowers, there would be no plants either? All rights reserved. For permissions information, contact the Illinois Natural History Survey. Terms of use. Email the Web Administrator with questions or comments. Staff Intranet Login. For more information and activities about trees, check their website. Little Green Food Factories.

The food that trees need is made in the leaves. Each leaf contains millions of chlorophyll cells. Chlorophyll cells are green, which is why leaves are green in the spring and summer. These cells actually make food through a process called photosynthesis.

Chlorophyll cells take in carbon dioxide - people and animals breathe out carbon dioxide. Chlorophyll cells combine this carbon dioxide with water sent up from the roots of the tree. In the chlorophyll cell, sunlight passes through this mixture and turns it into sugar and oxygen.

Native peoples hulled the larger seeds and then boiled them. The mulberry, M. The twigs, when tender in spring, are somewhat sweet, edible either raw or boiled. All Juglans species can be tapped for sweet-tasting syrup, particularly black walnut and butternut. The oaks are mentioned here, for it is not that well known that the acorns are edible. All acorns are good to eat, though some are less sweet than others. Some, like red oak, Q.

The bur oak, Q. The Populus genus includes aspens and poplars. Their somewhat sweet, starchy inner bark is edible both raw and cooked. You can also cut this into strips and grind into flour as a carbohydrate source. Quaking aspen, P. The green buds and leaves of a sassafras Sassafras albidum. Credit: Matt Jones via Flickr. Sassafras tea mainly from the young roots is well known, and its pleasantly fragrant aroma is unmistakeable.

The young, green-barked, mucilaginous twigs of this small- to medium-sized tree, when chewed, are delicious to many. The green buds and young leaves are also delicious. Try them in salads! Soups and stews can be thickened and flavored with the dried leaves but, remove the veins and hard portions first. This medium-sized tree is well known for its many herbal medicine uses.

The thick and fragrant inner bark is extremely sticky, but provides nourishment, either raw or boiled. The inner bark of the willows can be scraped off and eaten raw, cooked in strips like spaghetti or dried and ground into flour. Young willow leaves are often too bitter, but can be eaten in an emergency — it is a survival food!

The entire pine family comprises one of the most vitally important groups of wild edibles in the world, particularly for wildlife. The inner bark and sap is very high in vitamins C and A, plus many other nutrients. And, when eaten raw or cooked, its bark has saved many from starvation and scurvy. You can cut the inner bark into strips and cook like spaghetti, or dry and ground into flour for bread and thickening soups and stews. The sap in spring can be tapped and drunk as a tea.

Even pine needles, when young and starchy, are rich in nutrients, like vitamin C, and are reasonably tasty. These are not usually eaten, but rather chewed upon for about five minutes, swallowing only the juices. Youth who participate in 4-H STEM are better equipped with critical life skills necessary for future success.

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