Food

REAL MAGICAL TREE PHENOMENON

Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. The Tree of 40 Fruit.

THE TREE OF 40 FRUIT

How can one fruit tree be 40 different specimens all at once?

The definition of a specimen tree varies from gardener to gardener. Some believe that trees with exceptional beauty are specimen trees.

Apricot Stone Fruit on the Tree of 40 Fruit.

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. Stone Fruit on the Tree of 40 Fruit.

Using that definition, this tree, created by award-winning artist and professor, Sam Van Aken, is a specimen tree made up of 40 specimens. It bears more than 40 different specimens of heirloom stone fruits and nuts, including plums, cherries, apricots, peaches, and almonds every summer.

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. Nectarine blossoms.

It sounds impossible, or like it’s a freak of nature, but it is really a beautiful thing to behold. Firstly, in the spring, the tree is blanketed with forty different kinds of blossoms in every shade and variegation of pink, crimson, and white imaginable.

Assorted green, red, blue and purple plums.

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. Assorted Fruit from the Tree of 40 Fruit.

And then the beautiful fruits come. They are extraordinarily flavorful and colorful, like none you are likely to see at your regular market... they are not generally commercially available.

It all began when Van Aken had an idea for a work that leveraged his farming background to create a cool piece of live art that could deliver an exotic harvest.

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. Different varieties of stone fruit on the same branch of the Tree of 40 Fruit.

But as he researched varieties of stone fruits that he wanted to use for the piece, he found that the only place that still grew native, heirloom and hybrid variety of stone fruit species was the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY. And that, unfortunately, their orchard was on the verge of closing down due to financial woes.

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. Flowering fruit on the Tree of 40 Fruit.

As Van Aken contemplated the sad fact that hundreds of varieties of historical native specimens of plum and apricots would become extinct if the orchard closed, he decided to take over the property and the vision for a Tree of 40 Fruit was born.

Illustration of Timeline for the Tree of 40 Fruit.

Illustration: by Sam Van Aken. Sam Van Aken’s “Timeline,” for the Tree of 40 Fruit.

The Tree of 40 Fruit is as beautiful as it is biologically miraculous. By using chip grafting buds of different specimens of fruit trees onto a single tree-base (plum in this case), to create entirely unique hybrid specimens, Van Anken has developed a phenomenon.

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. Architect’s rendering of an orchard of Trees of 40 Fruit in Portland, Maine.

These trees are like a horticultural sculptures. Van Aken continues to create these multiple specimen fruit trees as an ongoing series.

The grafting technique Van Aken used has been around for thousands of years, as evidenced in hieroglyphs in Egypt.

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. Harvest, fruit.

Now, the professor has joined forces with art historian, real estate developer, and entrepreneur Chris Thompson to plant smaller versions of the Tree of 40 Fruit in more urban settings.

Van Aken now also works with over 250 specimens of stone fruit and hopes that his project will bring awareness to the current shortfall of variety of fruit in local markets.

Grafted tree in metal planter at Colby College Museum Of Art Waterville, Maine.

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. Tree 96 – Colby College Museum Of Art Waterville, Maine.

So far, Van Aken has created and placed 16 unique trees in museums, community centers and private art collections throughout the USA. He visits each one at least twice a year to nurture it until it is well established. It takes a total of five years for each tree to develop the grafts and another four before all 40 kinds of fruits can be harvested.

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. Cherry Blossom.

Van Aken, who now works with over 250 varieties of stone fruit, hopes that his multi-specimen tree installations will raise awareness around heirloom species and diversity of crops.

Tree bearing red, green, and purple plums.

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. Harvest, fruit.

Van Aken plans to use proceeds from the trees, which he sells for around $30,000 each, to create an orchard that will serve as an archive of native an antique stone varieties.

Check out Van Aken's TEDxManhattan talk. And watch his video.

Photo: by Yossi Arefi. Apricot and Peach Crumb Pie.

If you are now inspired (and who wouldn’t be!) why not bake a multi-specimen stone fruit pie! We found a lovely option: The Apricot and Peach Crumb Pie, by Yossy Arefi, found on Food52.

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Van Aken. Plum cherry blossoms.

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