Methuselah has company

UPDATE ON METHUSELAH THE MASADA DATE PALM: Could a Tree Grown from an Ancient Seed in Israel Help Cure Diseases in the Future? (Avi Jorisch, The Tower). Regular PaleoJudaica readers will be familiar with the story of the recovery of date palm seeds from the Masada excavation and the success in getting one, dubbed "Methuselah," to grow in 2004. If you need a recap, this article retells the story. But now there's more:

As for Methuselah, there is a problem: Because he is a male, he will only produce pollen. His female counterparts produce the fruit. The good news is that [agricultural expert Dr. Elaine] Solowey has managed to repeat her success with six more date seeds. In the next few years, she should know if she has successfully planted a female date palm for Methuselah to pollinate.

There's more in the article, so do read it all. But this news caught my eye. I hope that Dr. Solowey and her team are successful in recreating a mate for Methuselah.

Past posts on Methuselah are here and links.

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