research worker have resurrect a strange semen that was divulge in a cave in the Judean desert during the 1980s . consort toradiocarbon dating , the seed was over 1,000 eld onetime when it was found , and its desoxyribonucleic acid link up it to a genus of tree diagram that , although lost today , was mentioned in the Bible .

bring up “ Sheba ” , the obscure species of tree diagram has been identified as belonging to theCommiphoragenus , which is a fellow member of the Frankincense and Myrrh household ( Burseraceae ) . There are around 200 live plant species in this kinsfolk today . These trees tend to be distributed in Africa , Madagascar , and the Arabian Peninsula and have been valued for their rich redolent gum tree resins or ethnobotanical uses .

Over the last 14 years , Sheba has grown into a tree that is nearly 3 metre ( 10 pes ) tall , which has enabled scientists to delineate its characteristics for the first time .

The seed that produced Sheba was date to between 993 and 1202 CE . Although it is morphologically confining to other trees in theCommiphoragenus , a connection that was confirm with deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing and phyletic analytic thinking , it seems Sheba is distinct from all other sampled coinage . Its nighest known relatives areCommiphora angolensis , C. neglecta , andC. tenuipetiolata .

It is probable Sheba is a survivor from a now - out population of trees from the Southern Levant neighborhood that encompasses modern - day Israel , Palestine , and Jordan .

primitively , lead author Dr Sarah Sallon at the Hadassah Medical Organization , Israel , hypothesize that Sheba may be an exemplar of the historical “ Judean Balsam ” or “ Balm of Judea ” , a tree that was prized for its fragrance during ancientness . This tree was extensively describe by Greek , Roman - Byzantine , and Post - Graeco-Roman authors from the fourth century BCE to the eighth century CE .

However , Sheba miss any aromatic compounds , so this seems unlikely .

“ Based on the above finding , we refuted our initial hypothesis that ‘ Sheba ’ is the historical Judean Balsam cultivated in this region during antiquity and considered a second hypothesis to explain the identity of the ancient germinatedCommiphoraseedling , ” the authors write in their bailiwick .

Instead , they think the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree could be an example of a plant from which the Biblical “ tsori ” was extracted . This was a resin that was affiliate with healing in Genesis , Jeremiah , and Ezekiel .

“ Biblical ' tsori ' , most potential the product of a local coinage , was associated with the historical part of Gilead in the Dead Sea - Jordan Rift vale , a mountainous , richly forested arena in antiquity with a lower fertile vale ( ghor ) intensively cultivated throughout history , ” the team bestow .

The thought that “ Sheba ” may be a living exemplar of this long - lost but treasured tree is supported by the fact that the semen itself was found in a cave in the Dead Sea Jordan Rift valley .

Phytochemical analytic thinking of the tree ’s leaves and rosin show that it is rich in pentacyclic triterpenoids , a compound link with wound healing , and anti - incitive , anti - bacterial , andanti - cancerproperties .

The team also found high levels ( 30 percentage ) of squalene , an organic compound used in skin care , in Sheba ’s leaves .

Another interrogation the squad were concerned in addressing related to how the seed ended up in the cave web site it was observe in . They hypothecate that it could have either been deposited by an creature , or otherwise purposely stored there by a homo .

“ ‘ Sheba ’s ’ deposit in the cave by an animal or bird is support by grounds that small rodents storeCommiphoraseeds and its ripe fruit are eaten by hoot including pigeon and squab , zoology whose remains have been recover in Judean desert archaeological excavations and are still extant in the part today ” , the researchers excuse .

“ The small identification number of seed found in the cave also suggest that it was carried into the cave by fauna . ”

However , it is still potential the seminal fluid was stored by people . At the time when it was deposited in the cave , the Judean Balsam had disappear from the region . There were also considerable political and societal upthrust that led to economic rigour and instability . Other archaeologic excavation have found that caves in the region were used to hide local goods to keep them safe .

The team say : “ As the seed from a surviving member of a native species possibly associated with commerce , ' Sheba ' , may have been considered valuable enough to by choice sequester in a cave . ”

“ If human intervention was involved , it may also have been bring from outside the region , perchance with the intention of reintroducing a once valuableCommiphoraspecies . ”

Although this is a possibility , it come along to be less likely than the creature depository surmisal . This is because there is no other grounds of material find in the cave where the Sheba seed was line up .

Further enquiry is needed to identify other compound in the tree ’s tissue paper . The squad conclude that “ the germination of an ancientCommiphoraseed from the Judean desert shows grounds for the first time of its presence in this part approximately 1,000 class ago and possible identification with a native Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or shrub whose worthful rosin ' tsori ' was associated with medicative use in the Bible , but whose identity has long been debated . ”

The paper is published inCommunications Biology .