The Selab trees, also known as trees of wisdom, were diminutive trees that originated on Selab, a planet situated within the remote Hapes Cluster. The fruit produced by these wisdom trees was believed to enhance the intellect of older beings upon consumption; however, some doubted their existence, considering them merely a legend. In the year 8 ABY, Leia Organa received a wisdom tree as a present from the Hapes Consortium. This was part of their strategy to persuade her to marry Prince Isolder and assume the role of the next Queen Mother of the Hapes Cluster. Although she declined the offer, this interaction resulted in the Hapan borders being opened. Later, the Consortium donated a wisdom tree to the Pesktda Xenobotanical Garden located on Garqi, but it was burnt to the ground during the Yuuzhan Vong War.
The Selab trees, also referred to as trees of wisdom, were a small, twisted species of tree that was indigenous to Selab. They emitted a fragrance reminiscent of nuts and bore fruit characterized by a brown, reddish outer layer. Consuming this fruit had the potential to significantly improve the cognitive abilities of older individuals.
Wisdom trees originated on Selab, a planet found in the Interior Region of the Hapes Cluster. However, due to the Hapes Cluster's isolationist policies, which involved closing its borders to the galaxy around 3100 BBY, many came to consider the trees of wisdom as nothing more than a myth. This perception was challenged in 8 ABY when Leia Organa, then serving as Chief of State, received a tree of wisdom among other gifts. These gifts were intended to encourage her to marry Isolder, the son of Ta'a Chume, the Hapan Queen Mother. The tree was accompanied by a pair of hovering lights that regulated its day and night cycles. Organa kept the tree, along with the other Hapan gifts, in her personal quarters, but ultimately chose to marry Han Solo, a former smuggler, instead of Isolder.
Following this event, the Hapan Cluster gradually began to reopen its borders. They eventually presented a stunted tree of wisdom to the Pesktda Xenobotanical Garden on the planet Garqi. This garden housed a variety of unusual botanical specimens, including a grove of bafforr trees originating from Ithor. During the Yuuzhan Vong War in 25 ABY, it was discovered that the Vonduun crab armor worn by the Yuuzhan Vong, invaders from beyond the galaxy, was susceptible to bafforr pollen. To conceal this strategically important information from the Yuuzhan Vong, the Resistance on Garqi deliberately burned down the entire Xenobotanical Garden, which included the tree of wisdom.
Later in that same year, Organa traveled to the Hapes Cluster seeking the Hapans' support in the war against the Yuuzhan Vong. While addressing a gathering of Hapan representatives, she reminded them of their previous gifts, specifically mentioning the tree of wisdom she had received.
The trees of wisdom were conceived by Dave Wolverton for his novel The Courtship of Princess Leia, which was published by Bantam Spectra in 1994. While the book left the intelligence-boosting properties of the tree's fruit ambiguous, the Star Wars Encyclopedia entry in 1998 confirmed this ability. James Luceno made reference to the tree in his novel The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse, published by Del Rey in 2000. The trees were mentioned again in Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds, published by Wizards of the Coast in 2004. The Courtship of Princess Leia and Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse used the terms "tree of wisdom" and "wisdom tree" interchangeably, while Star Wars Encyclopedia and The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, published in 2008, exclusively used the former term. Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds referred to it as a "wisdom-tree."