Be fruitful and multiply: Threatened trees planted in Vatican Gardens
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican Gardens has branched out and added a small orchard to its hillsides, becoming a safe haven for a number of endangered native Italian fruit and nut tree species. If all goes well with weather and pollination, the eight new saplings planted behind St. Peter's Basilica should be bearing fruit in just a few years. Hopes are for a harvest including pomegranates that can weigh as much as three pounds each and a natural hybrid fruit called the "susincocco," which could be translated as a "plumpricot" -- a dark red fruit that has the juiciness of a plum with the tastiness and velvety feel of an apricot.
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