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A team of botanists has managed to cultivate a tree that was thought to be extinct, using a 1,000-year-old seed found in a cave in the Judean Desert in the 1980s .
Researchers believe this species may have been the source of a healing balm mentioned in the Bible and other ancient texts.
The seed was discovered during an archaeological excavation in the lower Wadi el-Makkuk region, north of Jerusalem , and was found in exceptional condition.
However, scientists were unable to determine the type of tree from the seed.
The team, led by Dr. Sarah Sallon , founder of the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem , planted the seed for further research more than a decade ago.
The team’s findings, published Sept. 10 in the journal Communications Biology , have begun to unlock some of the secrets of this intriguing specimen, which Sallon has dubbed “Sheba.”
Innovative germination method
Study co-author Dr. Elaine Solowey, a researcher emeritus at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Israel, employed a process she honed during previous research on 2,000-year-old date palm seeds .
This method involved soaking the seed in water with hormones and fertilizer before planting it in sterilized soil.
“After five and a half weeks, a beautiful sprout appeared,” Sallon said.
The tip of the shoot was protected by an operculum, and after it fell off, the team used radiocarbon dating to establish that the plant dates to between 993 and 1,202 AD.
Soon after, the tree began producing leaves . Sallon shared images with botanists around the world, and one expert suggested it belonged to the Commiphora genus, which comprises some 200 species native to Africa, Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula.
Sallon also sent a leaf sample to Dr. Andrea Weeks, an adjunct professor at George Mason University, who sequenced the DNA and confirmed the preliminary identification.
However, the sample did not match any known Commiphora species in their database.
With its unique genetic profile, this new Commiphora species likely represents an extinct taxon that was once native to the Judean Desert region.
Although the tree, now more than 14 years old and nearly 3 meters tall , has not flowered or produced fruit, making its exact identification difficult, the study continues to show promise in its search for answers about this ancient specimen.
