Yes, they do, but it's called bark! Like our skin, bark protects the tree from knocks and bangs and keeps moisture in. As the tree grows, new bark grows with it. The new bark pushes the old bark outward. So the oldest bark is always on the outside of the tree.
Floating bark
Bark is light, waterproof, and it floats. Native Americans made their canoes out of strips of birch bark.
Tasty trees
If you tap a hollow tube through the bark of a maple tree, a sweet syrup will drip out called maple syrup. It's delicious on pancakes!
Tree doctors
People called tree surgeons take care of trees. When a tree is injured, they put black sticky stuff, called pitch, on the part that's hurt. This protects the tree until new bark grows.
Woody facts
- Chomp, chomp! The very first set of false teeth were made out of wood.
- Rubber comes from a rubber tree.
- Cork comes from the bark of a cork tree.
