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Greetings from the distant past
2000 year old seed sprouted, and there was a tree, extinct 1,800 years ago
When archaeologists in 1963 excavated the palace of Herod the Great at Masada in Israel, in the same old pitcher they found a few seeds of date palm.
Continued under the cut ...
Seeds are stored in a very dry and protected space. The University of Zurich was conducted radiocarbon analysis, and it showed that the age of the seed is dated in the range from 155-year BC. e. 64-year n. e. After that, the seeds were deposited at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan. There they remained until the year 2005. In the same year, three seeds of palm trees, it was decided to put in a pre-fertilized soil hormones, and eight weeks later, one of the ancient seeds germinated.
Three years later, in 2008, the year the tree was almost 2 meters tall, and it appeared about a dozen leaves. Today, this tree is the only one of its kind, because the Jewish date palm became extinct 1,800 years ago. The fruits of this species of palm trees were a major source of power in ancient Judea, as these fruits were the main export crop. It was decided to give the name of the palm of Methuselah, after the famous biblical character, longevity. Grows at Kibbutz Ketura tree in Arava desert, in southern Israel. In 2011, the year in Methuselah were flowers, so it has been found that this tree male.
Source.
When archaeologists in 1963 excavated the palace of Herod the Great at Masada in Israel, in the same old pitcher they found a few seeds of date palm.
Continued under the cut ...
Seeds are stored in a very dry and protected space. The University of Zurich was conducted radiocarbon analysis, and it showed that the age of the seed is dated in the range from 155-year BC. e. 64-year n. e. After that, the seeds were deposited at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan. There they remained until the year 2005. In the same year, three seeds of palm trees, it was decided to put in a pre-fertilized soil hormones, and eight weeks later, one of the ancient seeds germinated.
Three years later, in 2008, the year the tree was almost 2 meters tall, and it appeared about a dozen leaves. Today, this tree is the only one of its kind, because the Jewish date palm became extinct 1,800 years ago. The fruits of this species of palm trees were a major source of power in ancient Judea, as these fruits were the main export crop. It was decided to give the name of the palm of Methuselah, after the famous biblical character, longevity. Grows at Kibbutz Ketura tree in Arava desert, in southern Israel. In 2011, the year in Methuselah were flowers, so it has been found that this tree male.
Source.
