"Anyone can talk to trees. But most people don't listen to hear what they say in return."

It might be a Cole's power thing, or just a Cole thing. The Dalish talked to the trees, and some of them knew to listen to the ways they spoke back.

"Hello, Ben. You feel floaty and warm, like being cuddled by a sunbeam." Cole looks at the hand, then slowly takes one and holds it in his fingers. "Thank you."

He doesn't eat it. There's a possibility he intends to take it back to his storage closet and keep it.