I think you're right, that date palm is the oldest seed germinated.
This 3,000 year old campion didn't come from a seed, more like tissue culture. Some squirrel buried plant parts in permafrost, and Russian botanists did the rest.
>> "the Russian researchers tried to germinate the campion seeds, but failed. They then took cells from the placenta, the organ in the fruit that produces the seeds. They thawed out the cells and grew them in culture dishes into whole plants."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02...
