The mature medicinal tree that we can grow from a 1,000-year-old seed found in an Israeli cave. The discovery highlight a previously lost lineage and is likely to have wide-reaching implications for the study of ancient botanical knowledge.
Unlocking the Past
Two thousand years later another group of researchers found the seed in a cave they were excavating in the Judean Desert, near Jerusalem, Israel and estimated it to be 1,000 years old based on radiocarbon dating of the seed. Curious, the researchers ran tests on it and discovered that it was still active.
An international team of botanists, agriculturists and historians was determined to unlock the secrets encrypted within this ancient seed by germinating and cultivating it. With proper care, it finally germinated and in the next 14 years it became an adult tree with a height of three meters that was covered in green. The researchers have called this incredible tree ‘Sheba.
Uncovering a Lost Lineage
As Sheba has matured, researchers have begun looking at its wood, resin and leaves in detail—and the results are intriguing. They identified the tree as belonging to the Commiphora genus, linked to those that produce frankincense and myrrh. But the exact species of spider orchid is a mystery. The tree has never flowered, preventing researchers from studying its reproductive parts.
The discovery of Sheba is even more remarkable because it appears the researchers have uncovered an extinct lineage that once thrived there. It shows that people in the region 2000 years ago were already knowledgable about the medicinal benefit of the tree and intentionally cultivated it. The fact the seed would have been present in a cave suggests this particular tree may be one of several species referred to as “tsori” –which means balsam, or the oil extracted from the plant–several times throughout the Bible.
Conclusion
This 1,000-year-old medicinal tree revival marks a milestone in the quest to uncover ancient botanical knowledge and long extinct lineages of the region. The researchers plan to reveal more of the tree’s secrets, including other possible medicinal uses by studying Sheba to open new horizons in modern medicine and bring a light on an ancient botanical history of the region.
