Tree of 40 Fruit

A Tree of 40 Fruit is any of a number of fruit trees created by the New York artist Sam van Aken using the technique of grafting. Each tree produces forty types of stone fruit, of the genus Prunus, ripening sequentially from July to October in the United States.[1][2]

Development

External video
The tree of forty fruits, Sam Van Aken, TEDxManhattan

In 2008, while looking for specimens to create a multi-coloured blossom tree as an art project,[1] Van Aken acquired the 3 acres (1.2 ha) orchard of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, which was closing due to funding cuts.[2] He began to graft buds from some of the over 250 heritage varieties grown there, some unique, onto a stock tree.[2] Some five years later the resultant tree had branches from forty different "donor" trees, each with a different fruit, including almond, apricot, cherry, nectarine, peach and plum varieties.[2]

Each spring the tree's blossom is a mix of different shades of red, pink and white.[2]

Distribution

As of 2014, Van Aken had produced 16 such trees, which were growing in a variety of locations, such as community gardens, museums and private collections, throughout the USA.[2] Some of the locations include Newton, Massachusetts; Pound Ridge, New York; Short Hills, New Jersey; Bentonville, Arkansas; and San Jose, California.[3] He has plans to populate a city orchard with examples.[2]

Van Aken

Van Aken is an art professor at Syracuse University.[4] His family is Pennsylvania Dutch, and he grew up on the family farm.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "The Gift Of Graft: New York Artist's Tree To Grow 40 Kinds Of Fruit". NPR. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "This tree produces 40 different types of fruit". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Salkeld, Lauren. "The Tree of 40 Fruit Is Exactly as Awesome as It Sounds". Epicurious. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 Elliot, Danielle (19 November 2014). "Could a Tree of 40 Fruit Hold a Clue to Solving World Hunger?". Not Impossble. Retrieved 24 April 2015.

External links

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