Plants from 2000 year old seeds still grow well

Just over 3 years old and about 4 feet tall, Methuselah is growing well. 'It's so lovely' is Dr. Sarah Sallon's comment about this date palm tree, its parents could be a source of food for the besieged Jews at Masada about 2,000 years ago.

This small tree was planted in 2005 from the restored seed at Masada, where rebellious Jews committed suicide rather than surrendering to Roman attackers.

The method of dating with radioactive carbon for seed fragments clinging to its roots, as well as other seeds found with it but not germinating, shows that they have a 2000-year lifespan - the oldest seed. germinated and developed.

Sallon, director of the Louis L. Borick Center for Natural Medical Research at Hadassah Medical Foundation in Israel, updated the novel of Methuselah in the sixth edition of Science magazine.

The date palm plants germinate from 2000 year old seeds.(Photo: nytimes.com)

Sallon said that it is still unknown whether this is a male or female. Date scrub has a gender difference, but experts cannot determine the difference until they are 6 or 7 years old.

She hopes to have the opportunity to use this tree to recover the extinct Judean scrub. This species is not only appreciated for its fruit, but also for its excellent healing properties.

The researchers looked at the DNA of the plant and found that it had only half of the genes with modern date scrub.

Answering the phone interview, Sallon said: 'A part of our project is to preserve ancient knowledge about using plants to be able to tame them, so we have available raw materials.'

Her Middle Eastern Medicinal Plant project is underway to conserve and reintroduce this plant to the area where they once lived.

She said: 'A lot of plants are in danger and extinct. Restoring dead species is a very difficult task, so it is better to preserve them before they become extinct. '

The oldest seed germinated previously recorded as a 1300 year old lotus species.