• Question: Why do trees just randomly grow?

    Asked by FootballFred03 to Andrew, Jade, Jessica, Kevin, Lynn on 17 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Jess Wade

      Jess Wade answered on 17 Jun 2015:


      Trees grow wherever seeds that are buried in the soil get all the nutrients and water they need to start their lives. Trees grow by producing new cells. We can measure the age of trees by the number of rings in their trunks. Lots of different layers form and create wood one on side of themselves, with bark ont he other side. Then another new layer forms, surrounds the outside wood, and growns another layer with an outside of wood and inside of bark. That keeps pushing out and the tree becomes wider and thicker in time. Sometimes the places they grow look random, because they aren’t in gardens or parks, but it is about how the wind and squirrels spread out all of the seeds for new trees. Think about how far sycamore seeds spread!

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