Judean Date Palm

"In ancient times, the region of Judea was known for its plump, delicious dates, which delighted the palates of classical writers like Pliny the Elder; in his sweeping natural history treatise, the Roman author marvels at the Judean date’s “unctuous juice” and “extremely sweet sort of wine-flavour like that of honey.” The palm trees that bore these tasty fruits eventually died out—but now, researchers in Israel have brought them back to life." The species of date palm once flourished in the Dead Sea region on plantations, but by the 19th century there was no trace of the once robust groves. "Seeds of the Judean palm have, however, survived for millennia—possibly due to the unique environmental conditions of the area around the Dead Sea, which is situated 1,388 feet below sea level. Precipitation and humidity there are low, and the region boasts the thickest atmosphere on Earth, which might protect ancient relics from cosmic radiation, according to the researchers." In 2008, a team of scientists announced that they had successfully resurrected the ancient tree from a 1900-year-old seed. "This surprising experiment could prove useful to today’s date farmers, because introducing ancient genes to the modern genetic mix may help protect date palms against factors like climate change and pests."