A team of biologists in Israel has grown an extinct — or at least extirpated — tree species of the myrrh genus Commiphora from an ancient seed found in the northern Judean Desert in the 1980s.
Morphological features of Sheba at different ages: (a) ancient seed prior to planting; (b) developing seed at 5 weeks showing epicotyl and developing cotyledons covered by seed coat; (c) seedling, 6 months; (d) peeling bark, 12 years; (e) leaves showing fine hairs, 12 years; (f) mature tree, 12 years. Image credit: Guy Eisner / Elaine Solowey / Sallon et al., doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-06721-5.
The well preserved ancient seed of unknown identity was recovered during archaeological excavations of a natural cave in Lower Wadi el-Makkuk carried out from 1986 to 1989.
Radiocarbon dated to 993-1202 CE, the seed was about 1.8 cm (0.7 inches) in length and weighed 0.565 g.
In 2010, Hadassah Medical Organization researcher Sarah Sallon and her colleagues decided to plant it at the greenhouse facility of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the Arava Institute of Environmental Sciences, Israel’s Kibbutz Ketura.
“Informally named Sheba, the seedling is currently 14 years old and approximately 3 m (10 feet) high,” the biologists said.
“Its bark is pale green-brown peeling in thin, papery sheets revealing a dark green under bark.”
“Leaves are alternate, imparpinnately compound with three to five leaflets and a fine, velutinous pubescence becoming sparse to subglabrous at maturity covering leaves and young and emergent stems.”
“The tree is deciduous, shedding leaves during the cooler months of December-April (mean local temperature – plus 24.8 degrees Celsius or 77 degrees Fahrenheit).”
“Wounding the bark produces a small amount of clear oleoresin,” they noted.
“Minimal to no fragrance is detected from leaves, bark or resin.”
“Since Sheba has not flowered, we do not have reproductive material to attempt a species description at this time.”
According to the researchers, Sheba displayed features typical of Commiphora, a species-rich member of the frankincense and myrrh family Burseraceae predominantly distributed in Africa, Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula.
They used DNA sequencing, phylogenetic and phytochemical analysis together with archaeological and historical source material to explore various hypotheses that could identify and explain the presence of Sheba in the region approximately 1,000 years ago.
“We questioned if it could be Commiphora gileadensis, a candidate for the valuable Judean Balsam of antiquity, or whether it may represent an extinct — or at least extirpated — species of Commiphora once native to the region suggested by early Biblical texts, and if so whether its presence may have been associated with cultivation, commerce and trade,” the scientists explained.
They found that Sheba is related to three Southern African species, but is not closely related to Commiphora species commonly harvested for their fragrant oleoresins, including Commiphora gileadensis.
They suggest that it may represent a Commiphora species once native to the region, whose resinous extract ‘tsori’ (Hebrew: flow/drip) mentioned in Biblical texts was considered a valuable substance associated with healing.
“First mentioned in early Biblical sources (Genesis 37:25, Gen 43:11) dated to the 18th-16th centuries BCE and later writings (Jeremiah. 8:22, 46:11, 51:8, Ezekiel 27:17) dated to 7th-6th centuries BCE, the identity of Biblical ‘tsori’ has long been open to debate,” the authors said.
“While there are opinions that identify it with the Judean Balsam, existing evidence has been insufficient to prove this connection.”
“Biblical ‘tsori,’ most likely the product of a local species, was associated with the historical region of Gilead in the Dead Sea-Jordan Rift valley, a mountainous, richly forested area in antiquity with a lower fertile valley intensively cultivated throughout history.”
“Located on the east bank of the Jordan river between the Yarmuk river and northern end of the Dead Sea, Gilead today occupies the northwest region of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.”
“Sheba’s identification with Biblical ‘tsori’ and therefore probably native to the region, is supported by its discovery in a cave in the Dead Sea-Jordan Rift valley, a region where currently 14.5% of the 800 native flora are classified as Sudanian /Sudano-Zambesian in origin.”
A paper described in the findings was published in September 2024 in the journal Communications Biology.
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S. Sallon et al. 2024. Characterization and analysis of a Commiphora species germinated from an ancient seed suggests a possible connection to a species mentioned in the Bible. Commun Biol 7, 1109; doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-06721-5
