Maddie Science: Fall Leaves

Maddie Science here, crisscrossing climate zones to study God’s fascinating creation. My guests today hang out in groves, orchards, parks and forests. They provide shelter and shade, along with some gifts that might surprise you. Say hello to the trees—maple, palm and fir.

Maple: Aww, you’re making me blush.

Maddie: Is that why your leaves have turned red?

Maple: (laughs) No, that happens every fall. As the days get shorter, I don’t use as much chlorophyll.

Palm: Chlorophyll makes leaves green.

Maddie: It also helps trees capture energy from sunlight, right?

Fir: Exactly. Do you know about photosynthesis?

Maddie: It’s the coolest of chemical reactions! Plants take sunshine, water and carbon dioxide and convert the molecules into sugar and oxygen.

Palm: God made trees and humans to be perfect partners. We need nutrients from the soil. You provide fertilizer. We need room to grow. You clear away our dead branches for firewood. Most importantly, you breathe out carbon dioxide, which we need to survive.

Maple: And in exchange, I produce enough oxygen in one growing season for two people to breathe for a year.

Maddie: Sounds like a full-time job.

Maple: It depends on the tree. Deciduous trees, like me, lose our leaves in the fall. They grow back in the spring.

Maddie: While I love jumping in leaf piles, it seems like a lot of work to regrow your leaves every year.

Maple: God designed me to change with the seasons, Maddie. As winter approaches, I cut off the water supply to my leaves. That’s when they change to dazzling shades of red, yellow or orange and fall to the ground.

Maddie: Or into my neighbors’ gutters.

Maple: That’s not the end of the story. The fallen leaves cover my roots like a blanket. As the leaves decay, they release heat, keeping me warm in the harsh winter. They also provide food and shelter for smaller creatures. But I’m always re-leaved when spring comes.

Maddie: Ha! What about you, palm?

Palm: I’m an evergreen.

Maddie: Really? You don’t look like most evergreens I know.

Palm: Where I live, we get enough sunshine to keep growing all year!

Maddie: Makes sense.

Fir: Oh sure, it’s easy to live in the tropics. Some of us brave the bitter cold and still stay green.

Maddie: Don’t be so prickly, fir.

Fir: Sorry, Maddie. It’s how I survive. I have long, pointy needles for leaves. They don’t capture as much sunlight, but they also don’t lose as much water to evaporation.

Maddie: While needles last longer than other leaves, I notice they cover the forest floor. I don’t want to go out on a limb, but they must fall off, too.

Fir: Excellent observation! We shed older needles. You can sleep pretty comfortably in a big bed of fallen pine needles.

Maddie: Ouch!

Palm: If it’s comfort you want, you can’t beat a shady palm tree on the beach.

Maddie: Wow, those are some giant pinnates.

Palm: Thanks! Each “branch” is actually a single leaf, divided into several components but sharing the same stalk.

Maddie: Fascinating.

Palm: Raffia palms have the largest leaves on the planet. They can grow up to 25 meters long—that’s half the length of an Olympic-sized swimming pool!

Maddie: A leaf that big must need lots of water.

Palm: Yeah, we like wet, hot climates. In the old days, desert travelers would look for palm trees as the sign of a nearby oasis.

Maddie: We get so many benefits out of trees: wood for shelter, fruit and nuts, even the paper for this magazine!

Fir: What can we say? We’re giving trees. Our roots hold the soil together, slowing down erosion.

Maple: My sap makes yummy syrup for pancakes.

Maddie: What a tree-t!

Fir: And my ashes are used to make lye, the key ingredient of soap.

Palm: We also contribute to the water cycle. As water evaporates from our leaves, it rises into the colder air to form clouds.

Maddie: You’re all so vital to human survival. No wonder nearly 40 types of trees are mentioned in the Bible. God even put the Tree of Life in Eden. It’s an image people from any culture can understand.

Fir: Speaking of symbols, we firs bring cheer as Christmas trees. My evergreen needles remind folks of everlasting life with Christ.

Palm: Meanwhile, children wave my leaves to celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem before Easter.

Maple: Don’t look at me. Maple trees don’t grow in the Holy Land. I’m big in Canada, though. They even put my leaf on the flag.

Maddie: No matter the species, trees are terrific. Until next time, science fans!

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