Forests have borne witness to the best and worst of humanity, providing shelter for first kisses and warring troops, games of hide-and-seek and terrible crimes. Towering and sturdy or dainty and lithe, trees not only provide the air we breathe, but just may be the world’s most omniscient listeners.
It’s no wonder that humans have created songs, folktales, artwork, religious beliefs and other tributes to these beautiful living things. Although conventional wisdom warns us not to miss the forest for the trees, for the International Day of Forests, celebrated 21 March, we’d like to take a moment to honor five of the world’s more famous ones.
Money tree
Parents often tell children that “money doesn’t grow on trees”. And the saying is true even with the money tree house plant, or Pachira aquatica. According to legend, however, the plant’s lushness and preponderance of leaves are supposed to directly correlate to the owner’s financial wellbeing. In its natural habit in the wetlands of Central and South America, the money tree – as shown at top – can grow up to 60 feet tall, though in a home its growth depends on the size of the pot. Plant and prosper.
World tree
In ancient times, the Maya believed that the ceiba tree – also known as the kapok or world tree – stood at the center of the earth. It can grow up to 200 feet tall and is found in many lands, from Mexico to the Amazon to West Africa. Some varieties of the ceiba are characterized by spines or conical thorns, giving them a menacing appearance.
Acacia tree
If you’ve read a book set about the continent of Africa, there’s a good chance that an acacia was on the outside – a reader of the Africa is a Country blog even tweeted an image of 36 book covers featuring the tree. Yet one species of flora cannot represent an entire continent – where the Rainforest Alliance does work in several nations, including Kenya and Ghana – that has tremendous biodiversity. Ancient Egyptians put the acacia tree to better use than literature marketers: its gum medicated the living as well as embalmed the dead, since its healing properties were believed to aid a person’s transition to the afterlife.
Peento tree with its peaches of immortality
In Chinese mythology, fruit from the peento tree are known as peaches of immortality. The legend is that the goddess Xiwangmu had 3,600 peentos on her estate in the hills of western China. Anyone who ate a peach from her trees was given eternal life. The catch? The enchanted fruit was said to ripen every 3,000, 6,000 and 9,000 years, and Xiwangmu was not one to dole out her treasure. Today, mortals can enjoy the sweet juiciness of the peaches without worrying about getting on a goddess’ bad side.
Tree of hope
During the 1920s and 1930s, an elm tree sprouted on the stretch of Seventh Avenue in Harlem, New York City, that was lined with theaters and nightclubs. Entertainers took to rubbing it for luck, leading to its nickname: the tree of hope. When the tree was chopped down in 1934 to widen the street, a portion of it was placed at the Apollo Theater. Today, Amateur Night contestants rub the tree remnant before taking the stage in front of the Apollo’s notoriously tough crowd – who made Lauryn Hill, Luther Vandross and Dave Chappelle lose competitions in the early stages of their careers.
This content is paid for by AMResorts in association with the Rainforest Alliance
