Maybe that's because trees are among my favorite things. In fact I don't know anyone who doesn't like them. I was reared on the edge of the fantastically beautiful rain forest in Hawaii; then, and ever since, trees have enchanted me.  
In Guam, largest of the Mariana Islands, I still get mush-brained whenever I see a lovely tree. 

Historically, from the time the ancient trading routes were established, the Mariana Islands were known as the "stepping stones" of the Pacific. Ships from all parts of the world used the islands for docking necessities and trading just as they do today. 
Even before Captain James Cook landed in Hawaii, the Marianas were crucial ports-of-call for sailors from every sea. As a natural result, international travel and trading provided for long-lasting mutual benefit between lands that hadn't known of each others' existence just a few years before.  
It was then that the exchange of plants and trees began to change the face of the Mariana Islands. These imports gradually blended with the indigenous trees and plants, and now it's all developed into the natural beauty of these islands. But like the modern day island people, the flora of the islands can really lay claim to world-wide heritage. 

I love them all; fruit trees, breadfruit trees, banyons, shade trees, ironwoods, palm trees and any others you can name.  Trees of the tropics range in size and shape, width and height, but most of them have one thing in common -- they're useful. Oh yes, some serve as nothing more than lovely adornments, but even if that's true, and it seldom is, the sheer poetry of a tree's beauty brings balm to needful souls. That, to me, is very useful! 

But most trees have uses beyond providing us with aesthetic pleasure. 
Take for instance, the fruit trees. What do most people think of--what kind of tree do *you* think of--when someone mentions the tropics? Coconuts? Bananas? (Even though bananas aren't trees, you know.) What about papayas? Oh boy, who can forget mangoes? Not me! I've downed too many of those luscious things to forget them! 

Most tropical and sub-tropical islands of significant size have their fair share of fruit trees; every one of them suited to the diverse climates that are found in the tropical and sub-tropical belts of our earth. 
On days when people sag in the heat, look up at the trees--they thrive in it. Too much rain for you? You can almost watch them grow during the wet season. Not enough rain some months? Most of our plants and trees do well for extended periods of drought, too. Hey people! We've got it good out here! 
Everything flourishes in Guam. Well . . . almost everything. I can't remember when it was that I last saw a healthy polar bear in this region. 

Nowadays nothing is unique to any one place, as far as fruits are concerned. It used to be, in the not too distant past, that people in northern climates took a few fast steps backwards if we mentioned stuff like "Star Fruit" and "Sweet Sop." You could see the wariness on their faces. Of course, "Trekkers" thought it was pretty cool. "You arrived in a space ship, too?" The literary minded may once have thought of George Eliot, the 19th century English novelist when he referred to stars as, "the golden fruit upon a tree all out of reach." Maybe he visited Hawaii or Guam .. . you think? 

Live a little!  If you live in paradise, explore it! Venture into the world of tropical trees and flora; get to know them, study them. If it hadn't struck you yet, then one day you'll suddenly realize the depth of the beauties, the wonder of the wonderful place where you are. It's a worthwhile subject, you know; if nothing else, your worthwhile quest will provide food for thought. Fruit . . . food . . .get it? 

I'll give you three guesses to come up with the most common, abundantly grown fruit tree in the Pacific. 
Yep, that's right -- it's the coconut palm tree. I defy you to name one person in your circle of acquaintances who hasn't at least seen a travel brochure, picturing a lonely beach and coconut trees with a backdrop of a spectacular tropical sunset. With over 1500 species of palm trees in existence, you'd be hard pressed to find a penguin who doesn't recognize one when they see it. Even Eskimos and Irishmen have been known to hang posters of the tropics and coconut palms on their walls. 

Coconut palms have long been the life sustaining tree to the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, parts of the Atlantic, and Tropical America. Historians believe that ancient settlers of Guam, Hawaii, Tahiti, etc., brought coconuts with them on their original voyages from the South Pacific thousands of years ago. That may be, I suppose. Contrary to what some people think, I wasn't around then. But I do know that ocean currents also carry coconuts for thousands of miles. 
As a child, I remember playing with drifting coconuts as they bobbed on the waves. They were like little rafts. Just try holding one under the water for a long time. Believe me, if you're little, the nut gives you a real fight to surface again.  However it arrived, this life-blood of early island people is as much a part of life in the Pacific as . . . our gorgeous sunsets.  

Islanders have ingeniously developed so many uses for the coconut palm, and palms in general, that it boggles the modern mind. They say "necessity is the mother of invention," so I imagine the early islanders needed a lot! Like everyone else, they put their intelligence where their stomachs--and their very lives--were. 

The palm leaves, when young and tender, were eaten as greens. Ever heard of "hearts of palm?" Food for royal houses. Coconut milk was, and still is used in cooking and as a beverage. I can't count the times when my brothers climbed a coconut tree on the beach where we were swimming, chopped them with machetes, and drank the coconut water to refresh themselves. I had many a fight trying to get my share, I'll tell you!  Coconut meat, whether from green or ripe fruit, is as delectable and versatile a food as you'll find anywhere. 
Its oils are extracted and used in the manufacturing of medicine and cosmetics. But it doesn't stop there. The wood produced from the coconut tree itself, and its sister palms, were used to make furniture, bowls and utensils.  
Just about everyone south of Seattle has sought shelter from a blazing sun under a coconut tree. Islanders thatched their roofs with the huge fronds and built walls in their huts with them. 
And you can't beat the charm of woven mats, many room-sized, and the intricately woven bowls, containers, hats, purses, boxes . . . . You get the picture, don't you? 

Now you know more than you've ever wanted to know about coconut trees. Right? But the next time you look at one, remember and thank God for that vital link to the lives of all the peoples in and around the tropics. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a coconut-flavored ice cream shake. Hafa adai.