Date palm

For other species of date palms, see Phoenix (plant) § Species.

Date palm
Date bunches on a palm
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Phoenix
Species:
P. dactylifera
Binomial name
Phoenix dactylifera
Synonyms[1]
  • Palma dactylifera (L.) Mill.
  • Phoenix chevalieri D.Rivera, S.Ríos & Obón
  • Phoenix iberica D.Rivera, S.Ríos & Obón

Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as the date palm,[2] is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, Australia, South Asia, and California.[3] It is naturalized in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide.[3][4][5] P. dactylifera is the type species of genus Phoenix, which contains 12–19 species of wild date palms.[6]

Date palms reach up to 30 metres (100 feet) in height, growing singly or forming a clump with several stems from a single root system. Slow-growing, they can reach over 100 years of age when maintained properly.[7] Date fruits (dates) are oval-cylindrical, 3 to 7 centimetres (1 to 3 inches) long, and about 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter, with colour ranging from dark brown to bright red or yellow, depending on variety. Containing 61–68 percent sugar by mass when dried,[8] dates are very sweet and are enjoyed as desserts on their own or within confections.

There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in Arabia from the 6th millennium BCE.[9] Dates are "emblematic of oasis agriculture and highly symbolic in Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religions".[9]

  1. ^ "Phoenix dactylifera L. — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Phoenix dactylifera". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Phoenix dactylifera L." Plants of the World Online | Kew Science. 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Biota of North America Project, Phoenix dactylifera". Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Phoenix dactylifera in Flora of China @ efloras.org". eFloras, Flora of China. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Krueger was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Hodel D, Johnson D (2007). Imported and American Varieties of Dates (Phoenix Dactylifera) in the United States. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR). p. 13. ISBN 978-1-879906-78-5. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Dates, deglet noor". FoodData Central. US Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. ^ a b Sallon S, Cherif E, Chabrillange N, et al. (7 February 2020). "Origins and insights into the historic Judean date palm based on genetic analysis of germinated ancient seeds and morphometric studies". Science Advances. 6 (6): eaax0384. Bibcode:2020SciA....6..384S. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax0384. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 7002127. PMID 32076636.