The Little Tree that Could

Masada, Israel

2,000 years ago, among Roman attacks and Hebrew resistance, a date tree in Masada dropped its fruit to the ground. In 2005, scientists recovered the seeds left behind long after the dates had rotted away. In an amazing display of resilience, one of the little seeds sprouted, giving life to "Methuselah". The 4-ft tall date palm holds the record for the oldest seed to successfully grow in to a plant.

Scientist won't be able to tell whether Methuselah is a boy or a girl until the plant reaches 6 or 7 years of age, but Dr. Sarah Sallon, director of the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah Medical Organization in Israel hopes to use Methuselah to restore the extinct Judean date palm to life. The ancient species was once well known not only for the fruit it bore, but also for its medicinal applications.

"Part of our project is to preserve ancient knowledge of how plants were used," says Sallon, "to domesticate them so we have a ready source of raw material."

To read more and to see Methuselah, visit http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/06/12/ancient-date-tree.html