Many readers are familiar with the 2,000 year-old seed that sprouted and brought back a single specimen of the extinct Judean Date Palm. Scientists named the new sprout “Methuselah” and raised the possibility of reviving the species.
Date palms have gender and the Methuselah plant is a male, so it will not directly produce fruit. Scientists recently took pollen from Methuselah to fertilize another date palm and succeeded in getting fruit. This raises the possibility that the Judean Date Palm, famed in antiquity, may be brought back from extinction and even reintroduced to commercial markets.
The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released this short video on Methuselah’s newest accomplishment.
HT: Barnea Selaven
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