The Judean date palm is a date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) grown in Judea. It is not clear whether there was ever a single distinct Judean cultivar, but dates grown in the region have had distinctive reputations for thousands of years, and the date palm was anciently regarded as a symbol of the region and its fertility. Cultivation of dates in the region almost disappeared after the 14th century AD from a combination of climate change and infrastructure decay but has been revived in modern times.
In 2005, a team of scientists sprouted a preserved 2,000-year-old seed, the oldest seed germinated with human-assistance (with the claim in 2012 of a 32,000-year-old arctic flower involving fruit tissue rather than a seed).[1] The palm, a male, was named Methuselah (not to be confused with a bristlecone pine tree of the same name). Following this success, six further preserved seeds were sprouted.[2]
- ^ Wade, Nicholas (2012-02-20). "New Life, From an Arctic Flower That Died 32,000 Years Ago". The New York Times.
- ^ Zhang, Sarah (2020-02-05). "After 2,000 Years, These Seeds Have Finally Sprouted". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-06-27.