Who Turned Daphne into a Tree

Daphne, fleeing to escape Apollo’s advances, prays to Zeus to help. Zeus turns her into laurel tree.

Why does Daphne transform into a laurel tree?

She rejected every lover, including Apollo. When the god pursued her, Daphne prayed to the Earth or to her father to rescue her, whereupon she was transformed into a laurel.

What happened after Daphne turned into a tree?

Daphne started transforming into a tree. Her hair became leaves, her arms branches, and her legs roots. Before Apollo could have a look at her face, she was gone. The only thing standing where Daphne stood was a beautiful laurel tree (literally a daphne tree in Greek).