Methuselah
Today’s optimic news come from the Arava Institute. After two years, Dr. Elaine Solowey exposed Methuselah, a 2000-years old date tree. It made me very pleased.
Methuselah is a date tree she and her students managed to grow from a seed found in the ruins of Massada ; radioactive scan confirmed that this seed is over 1900 years old. She hopes to use it to restore the biblical Judean Palms, believed extinct from Israel.
I once read that in the egyptian piramids some archaeologists found seeds of plants that are believed to be vital. However, this is the first time that I hear of a living tree actually grown out of such an old seed. According to the picture, the tree looks healthy and in good shape. I find this fascinating: I hope more of the same will come, and that doctor Solowey is successful in her efforts.
This is another proof of something I claim for a long time: Good things happen in the Arava. It is not just a road on the way to Eilat, it is a beautiful region that recieves much less attention then it should, and where wonderful deeds are done (by the way, another Arava related project just crossed my mind: the parks authority recently anounced the close release of a heard of ostriches to the wilderness in the Arava. Would be cool to seee them running by the road).
Thank you, Dr. Solowey, and good luck.
February 20th, 2007 at 2:19
Radioactive ? you mean - carbon dating ?
Aren’t dates using sexual reproduction ? She’d need at least another palm tree to actually grow more trees, and at least a good dozen more to get the genetic diversity needed in today’s parasite rich world.