Your mouth begins to water as you jump out of bed and head to the kitchen. It won't be long until you're seated at the table before a stack of flapjacks, ready to soak them in that sweet and sticky substance that turns ordinary pancakes into a breakfast treat : syrup! Like the paper you write on at school, syrup comes from those tall, woody perennials you often take for granted.
What are we talking about? Trees, of course! You can't drill a hole in just any old tree and have syrup pour out. You can, however, tap certain kinds of trees, such as sugar maple trees, and collect gallons of sap at the right time of year. Syrup makers use tree sap to make syrup. On average, it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of delicious syrup.
Sap inside a tree is a bit like blood inside the human body. Sap flows through a part of the outer tree trunk known as sapwood, delivering water, sugars , and nutrients throughout the tree. Sap production begins in warm summer months when the process of photosynthesis creates carbohydrates that get stored in the tree as starch. The starch then gets converted to sugar in the form of sucrose that dissolves into the sap, which is stored for the winter.
When spring begins to arrive often around the month of March , the weather provides just the right conditions to produce sap that can be collected to make syrup. The rising temperatures during the day create positive pressure within the tree that will force sap out of any holes in the tree. In addition to taps purposefully placed in the tree to collect sap, sap will flow out of broken branches or any other cracks or holes in the tree. At night when temperatures fall back below freezing, negative pressure develops inside the tree.
This creates a suction that stops the sap from flowing out of the tree. This suction force also pulls water through the tree's roots to replenish the sap. Experts believe these differences in pressure as a result of temperature fluctuations occur because of the expansion and contraction of carbon dioxide gas within the sapwood. This cycle continues until temperatures stay above freezing, at which point sap will stop flowing and begin the sap production cycle anew.
Scientists believe that the sap's main purpose is to provide nutrients to new leaves as they grow. In turn, those leaves will fuel the process of photosynthesis that starts the sap production process. Using proper tapping procedures, trees sustain only minor wounds that are not damaging. Trees repair drill holes and heal in a matter of time. Find a friend or family member to help you check out the following activities:.
Hi, Jaidyn! Did you check out Wonder ? That's cool, Rickey. You may enjoy this: What Is a Fad? We are undergoing some spring clearing site maintenance and need to temporarily disable the commenting feature. Thanks for your patience. Drag a word to its definition. You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:. A pine tree that drips a little bit of gold-colored sap is normal, healthy and natural. If, however, your pines are producing a lot of sap and it is not gold in color, you should get your trees inspected for disease or pest issues.
We offer inspections and provide treatments for trees, just contact us at Nancy Penrose is owner of Big Trees Inc. Sign up here to receive our newsletter, tree care information and special offers. When do pine trees produce sap? The best defense against bark beetle is prevention; however, infected trees may be saved with the proper insecticides applied by a licensed pesticide applicator.
Common garden pests such as scales, aphids and mealybugs feed on the sap of trees and excrete a sticky substance known as honeydew, which can be mistaken for sap.
If not treated, the honeydew will increase the chance of sooty mildew growth. These sap-sucking insects can generally be treated with insecticidal soaps and horticultural oils. Many fungi and diseases that attack trees will cause sap to seep out of the bark. The bacterial infection known as wetwood is a common infection of elms and causes sap to seep out of the cracks and wounds of the tree bark. Trees infected with wetwood may have yellow, wilting leaves and branch dieback.
Pruning trees of all species can lead to sap dripping from the bark. Fortunately, you can reduce the chance of prune-inducing sap by pruning the tree during its recommended time frame. For example, conifers pruned during their dormant season typically will not produce sap. Amanda Flanigan began writing professionally in
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