Leetcode 257. Binary Tree Paths

public class Solution {
    public List<String> binaryTreePaths(TreeNode root) {
        List<String> ret = new ArrayList<>();
        helper(root, ret, "");
        return ret;
    }
    
    public static void helper(TreeNode t, List<String> ret, String tmp) {
        if (t == null) return;
        // found a leaf, end of a path
        if (t.left == null && t.right == null) {
            tmp += t.val;
            ret.add(new String(tmp));
            return;
        }
        tmp += t.val;
        tmp += "->";
        helper(t.left, ret, tmp);
        helper(t.right, ret, tmp);
    }
}