2000 year old seed

[Christina]

2,000-year-old seed has roots in King Herod's palace By MAUREEN GILMERDIY Network 15-MAY-06 In Israel, at Kibbutz Ketura, a 14-inch seedling date palm goes by the name Methuselah.The seed from which it sprouted 14 months ago was found in archeological excavations of King Herod's palace on Mount Masada. Lying dormant for 2,000 years, it is the oldest seed to ever produce a viable tree. And this is no ordinary date palm, but the extinct Judean form considered uniquely medicinal.The Judean palms described in Roman writings and shown on their coins are endemic to the Holy Land. Enormous forests of these palms once covered this now barren landscape, the value of its date harvest invaluable to the economic viability of Judea. But these groves disappeared after the Romans left. Twentieth century palm groves planted in Israel are not Judean, but imported from the date groves of California. Botanists are keen on discovering how the ancient date palm differs from our contemporary agricultural plants.

 

[HammerStone]

Ya know, I know there's absolutely no relation here, but I could not help think about the parable of the fig tree while reading this article clip.

 

[Christina]

remined me of that also swapfox