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The article focuses on study of germination of 2000-year-old seeds of Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) from Judean desert archaeological sites. Topics discussed include microsatellite genotyping of germinated seeds of date palm, exchanges of genetic material occurred between the Middle East (eastern) and North Africa (western) date palm gene pools; and nuclear genome on a gradient from east to west of genetic contributions.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to another letter concerning the article "Germination, genetics, and growth of an ancient date seed."

The article reports on the research conducted on the germination of a 1300-year old lotus seed found at the Dead Sea in Israel and Jordan. These seeds are discovered during the 1963-1965 excavations of Masada, an Herodian fortress overlooking the Dead Sea. Researchers planted the seeds in preparation in a quarantined site. After eight weeks, one seed germinated and its growth over 26 months demonstrated development similar to those of a normal date seedlings wherein it propagated from modern seeds except for the whitish patchers on early leaves, manifesting lack of chlorophyll and deficiency of essential nutrients during the initial phases of germination. Discussed are the details of the experiment.