Why are leaves called the ‘factories’ of a plant?

The green hands of a plant, the leaves, look so simple and plain at the first glance. However, there is intense activity going on in them, much like inside a factory!

Food for the entire plant is produced in the leaves, in the form of sugar. The special green substance called chlorophyll helps leaves in the process of food production. Chlorophyll needs sunlight, carbon dioxide from the air and water from the soil to produce sugar. The process of leaves producing food is called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis literally means ‘putting together light’.

Therefore, leaves manufacture sugar, like factories. The manufacturing process in the leaves is not simple. Much like in a factory, the plant collects raw materials such as carbon dioxide and water through their leaves and roots. The water from the roots goes to the leaves through the stem and branches.

How do they prepare the food, though? Chlorophyll, the green substance, helps the leaves transform sunshine into energy. Leaves need this energy in order to transform minerals in the water and carbon dioxide from the air to sugar. There can be waste material in the cooking process too! The remaining air along with extra oxygen thrown out through small opening called stomata on the underside of the leaf.

 

Picture Credit : Google