GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist has written a blog about science since 4 August 2004 (the early years are archived 
A seed that was discovered in the 1970s in an archaeological site and was found to be 2,000 years old has sprouted, making it the oldest fertile seed known. This seed produced a date palm that was plentiful in Roman times -- a plant that has since disappeared.
"People tell me the tree I'm raising looks like a typical palm you might see in your dentist's waiting room," says Elaine Soloway, who teaches at Kibbutz Ketura's Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and who germinated the 2,000-year-old date seed that was found at Masada. "But that's not true." Soloway says the first leaves that have sprouted are extraordinarily long. "We don't know yet if it's a male or a female, but if it's a female, in another two or three years we'll be able to know how dates tasted in Judea in ancient times."
According to historical sources, that taste was splendid. The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder, who lived in the first century C.E., wrote that Judea's dates were known for their succulence and sweetness.
The palm tree has been named "Methuselah".
Cited story.
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Comments
I think this is so interesting! I've often wondered if anyone did anything with the seed or grains found at archeological sites & pyramids. Sorta like a jurassic garden. I hope it lives to fruit.
Posted by: Diane in Ohio | February 15, 2007 2:51 PM
Pretty cool - any words on why the plant has since disappeared though?
Posted by: Kevin | February 15, 2007 3:59 PM
the story doesn't say why the plant disappeared.
Posted by: GrrlScientist | February 15, 2007 7:22 PM
Oldest? Didn't someone manage to sprout grains from the Egyptian pyramids?
Posted by: David Harmon | February 16, 2007 10:09 AM