If we go out on a hot day some shade is a very welcome relief at times. In the towns we have to walk on the shady side of the street or sit under umbrellas, but if there is a large tree in a park it feels so much better and somehow cooler. Do you know why?
On a tree there are thousands of leaves and even if there is a light breeze they fan the air slightly to make it feel cooler, but also they are showering out a very fine spray of water, so that your skin is more moist and comfortable. Natural things are always so much more complete and beneficial.
When we see a large tree the branches and leaves that reach high up into the air, we do not always realise that in the ground below our feet, is a system of roots that is nearly as large as what we see above us. The roots end is very fine hairs and these search out the moisture in the soil and draw it up into the tree. Tiny tubes called capillaries (we have capillaries in our bodies too, to carry the blood to the furthest reaches of our system) carry this water to the very top of the tree. In an older tree they are concentrated just under the rough bark.
When the water reaches the leaves, it is sprayed out through millions of tiny pores on the leaves. The spray is so fine it is impossible to see or actually feel, but this is what makes it pleasant to be under a tree. Day by day in the summer many gallons of water are moving inside the tree and then being released into the air to refresh us. |
