• Question: Why do plants shade their leaves during winter?

    Asked by Jelle to Alice, Koko, Paul, Silvia, Tim on 24 May 2018.
    • Photo: Timothy Chege

      Timothy Chege answered on 24 May 2018:


      Not all plants shed their leaves during winter but those that do so is because their leaves are not protected by anti-freeze chemical that protect the leaves.

    • Photo: Alice Kamau

      Alice Kamau answered on 25 May 2018:


      Trees lose their leaves in winter because the ground in cold climates can freeze making the soil as dry as desert. To reduce moisture loss due to transpiration through the plants leaves, the tree simply drops them until the warmer spring weather returns.

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