I find it extremely fascinating how forests can be seen as magical and containing deities. There are many cultures who believe in these deities, and they all have a different perception of them. The Jinmenju is a Japanese tree with human-faced fruits. In Greek mythology, Meliae are the nymphs of the Ash tree, and Pan is the god of the woods. These nymphs were birthed by Gaea and were seen as inferior female divinities. Rakapila is the tree deity of Madagascar. There are a myriad of these divine beings and every culture has a different one.
The Jinmenju can be seen as a tree blooming flowers of human heads, or fruits of human heads. A fun fact about this tree is that the Pokémon Exeggutor is based on it. The Jinmenju is explained “In mountain valleys, its flowers just like human heads, without a word, they merely just smile away, smile away until its pedals fall just like that.” Based on this explanation, I see the flowers/fruits as representations of human life. We all live, or smile, until we cannot live anymore, or until our petals fall off. 