It’s easy to tell the difference between red and yellow apples or round and oval plums. But did you know that every fruit and vegetable has many sub-varieties, each with unique qualities? Some trees bear many sweet fruits, while others produce smaller ones. Some grow in early summer, while others ripen later on. Some do well in warm climates, while others need cold weather. Some thrive in mountain soil, while others grow best in sandy soil.

Each variety has its advantages. But what if you want to combine all the benefits? Hashem created an incredible natural process that’s similar to surgery. You take a shoot from one tree (called a scion) and connect it to the trunk of another tree (the rootstock). This process is called grafting. The two shoots will fuse and the scion will continue to produce fruit.

For example, if you take a branch from a tree with a strong trunk that bears poor-quality fruit, and graft it onto a branch from another tree with excellent fruit but weaker roots, you’ll get a tree with a hardy trunk and excellent fruit.

The Torah does not forbid all grafts. It prohibits grafting between two different species, but grafting shoots from similar species is permissible. For example, it’s pretty clear that green and red apples are the same species. But what about oranges and clementines? Or pomelos?

In this plot, you will find rootstocks and scions. The rootstock, kanah, is the tree grown to serve as the base, the trunk used for grafting. The scion, rochev, is the shoot with good fruit whose branch is grafted onto a trunk.

Try to compare: Which trees are similar to one another? Look at the leaves, the shape of the tree, fruit, and more.