Why do trees bleed sap?

Question

Why do trees bleed sap?

Answer 1

If you cut any living thing it bleeds, in the case of trees it is the watery substance called sap.

Answer 2

The sap is the tree's food.  Its a mixture of glucose and various other things.  In vascular plants you have tissue known as Xylem, and Phloem.  Xylem transports water and minerals from the roots to the leaves.  Phloem carries the glucose to the various parts of the plant to be used as food.  Thats why its sticky and sugary...because it contains glucose.

Answer 3

Sap is like blood in that it carries nutrients and water from the root to the leaf.  When you cut deep enough into the bark, into the living layer where growth is taking place, you interrupt the tubules carrying sap and the tree "leaks" sap.