A few months ago, just to try, I put a petai seed right smack in the middle of this banana clump. The seed sprouted at the beginning of our annual windy dry season, not the easiest of beginnings. This is what our seedling looks like today amongst the banana stems. Easily the most handsome out of those from the same pod. Do you see competition and smothering, or nurturance and sheltering? Either way, nature is a mirror. She often reflects how we view the world and ourselves.

Unlike his grafted peers sold at nurseries, this seedling is genetically unique. One of a kind, like you and me. And like you and me, but unlike his banana neighhours, his parents had sex to bring him into existence. Tree sex.

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