Story highlights Sam Van Aken's "Tree of 40 Fruit" grows variety of stone fruits

Chip grafting of tree buds makes the project possible

(CNN) The first time Sam Van Aken saw tree branches being grafted and grown onto other trees, he likened it to Frankenstein. Yet, when the process became a full-time fascination, the Syracuse University art professor did not seek to create a monster but a piece of art.

The " Tree of 40 Fruit " is Van Aken's creation, a single tree that can produce 40 different stone fruits, or fruit with pits, including peaches, apricots, plums, cherries and nectarines.

"I look at the Tree of 40 Fruit as an artwork, a research project and a form of conservation," Van Aken said in a 2014 TEDxManhattan talk

He uses chip grafting to create the trees, which involves cutting the buds off a fruit tree and having them heal to the lateral branches of a rootstock tree. Branches from the different fruit trees grow off of the rootstock, which is typically a tree variety natural to the area's climate and soil. This allows fruit to be grown in areas that might not otherwise support that type of tree. Van Aken has planted 16 trees in seven states across the country.

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"Each space is unique," Van Aken told CNN about the various art museums, university campuses and private land where the trees are grown.

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