Since we have spoken of love, let us begin with apple trees, which are among the most loving of species. I suspect this affection comes from the long association of apple trees with people, who nurtured and bred them, ate from their bounty without having to cut them down, and have always regarded them with gratitude and delight. Most apple trees have low, large, spreading limbs accessible to a child, and this is the most commonly cited tree in the reminiscences of people who spent hours, as children, reading books in trees or taking refuge there when their families were going mad. When I walk up to an apple tree, I feel that I am welcomed with open arms. My experience with pear trees is more limited, but when I stand under the one on Main Street in Phoenicia, I feel an exquisite tenderness pour gently down upon me.
Maples are also affectionate, in a motherly fashion.
When I need a sense of comfort and care, I go to a maple. Like apple trees, sugar maples have a long history of feeding humans, and the sweetness of their sap seems to correspond to an emotional sweetness and nourishment. I have a theory that trees with opposite branching patterns tend to be more emotionally accessible to humans. The only local trees with opposite patterns are dogwood, ash, and maple. Perhaps the pairs of branches resemble human arms and make us feel that the trees embrace us, spiritually, like multi-limbed Hindu gods.