What keeps trees from freezing in winter? -

Maple syrup comes from the sap of maple trees.

Have you ever poured maple syrup on pancakes? It tastes sweet!

Where does maple syrup come from? It comes from the sap of maple trees. Sap is a liquid (matter that takes the shape of the container it is in) made of water and sugar.

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Sap is in tree wood. It is collected in the spring.

Sap is in the xylem (tubes in the wood of trees that allow water to flow) of trees. It is collected in spring. People tap into the wood of a tree. The sap drips out. It is collected in a bucket. Then, it is cooked to make maple syrup.

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Sap keeps tree cells from freezing in winter.

Sap helps protect trees in winter. How? Maple trees add more sugar to sap. The added sugar keeps sap from freezing. This keeps the tree’s cells (the basic unit of all living things) from freezing. Freezing can damage cells.

Thanks to sap, tree cells are protected during winter. And, we get a sweet topping on our pancakes!

What Can You Do? Have you had maple syrup? How did it taste?

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