Dear Chocolate Tree,
It has been some time since we last met and while we have been apart I often think of you. The amazing way you grow deep in the forest, under the shade of much larger trees. Still so dignified, with dark green leaves, a strong trunk, and those most beautiful flowers so abundant on your dark brown skin. Each morning a new batch of your exquisite flowers open, fresh with the hope of being visited by a tiny insect, hoping that it will leave behind the tiny pollen grains from another chocolate tree, at once completing, and restarting the circle of life followed by your ancestors for millions of years, encoded deep within your DNA.
Then during four months, a miracle of life grows on your limbs, creating a fruit that contains your perfect brown seeds, each full with a thousand different molecules, and a tiny embryo. You generously produce your fruit without complaint, allowing them to be harvested and opened to remove the seeds, so these can be transformed into the most delicious substance on earth, chocolate. No other plant on earth can provide such a treat and bring a smile to so many millions of people every day.
So my love, until we meet again, in some wet, warm forest, may your days be full of sunlight, fresh water and warn air. Live long, knowing you have made a difference in this world, providing a home for birds, insects, and many others, protecting the soil and water, providing a living for so many families, and giving us all a reason to smile.
With love from your humble servant,
Mark
Mark Guiltinan, PhD.
Professor of Plant Molecular Biology
Department of Plant Science
Pennsylvania State University
