Judean date palm 2005, before knowing the gender of the palm tree, Dr. Solowey was hoping that it would turn out to be female, for which there was a 50% chance, because that would have allowed it to give fruit; on the contrary, "if it's a male, it will just be a curiosity." Methuselah flowered in March 2011 and is male. As of 2012, there were tentative plans to crossbreed the palm with what was considered its closest extant relative, the Hayani date from Egypt, to generate fruit by 2022. By 2015 Methuselah had produced pollen that has been used successfully to pollinate
Orange (fruit) the Palace of Versailles. At Versailles potted orange trees in solid silver tubs were placed throughout the rooms of the palace, while the Orangerie allowed year-round cultivation of the fruit to supply the court. When Louis condemned his finance minister, Nicolas Fouquet, in 1664, part of the treasures which he confiscated were over 1,000 orange trees from Fouquet's estate at Vaux-le-Vicomte. Spanish travelers introduced the sweet orange into the American continent. On his second voyage in 1493, Christopher Columbus may have planted the fruit in Hispaniola. Subsequent expeditions in the mid-1500s brought sweet oranges to South America and Mexico, and