A tall single-stemmed palm of the Middle East and North Africa, providing sweet, energy-dense dates that have sustained desert civilisations for millennia.
Where it grows
The date palm has been cultivated in the river oases of Mesopotamia and the Nile delta for at least 6,000 years. It tolerates intense heat, salinity, and drought as long as the roots reach groundwater — making it the keystone tree of desert oasis agriculture. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Algeria lead world production.
How to recognise it
A slim, unbranched grey trunk wrapped in the persistent stubs of old leaf bases is topped by a crown of stiff, pinnate, blue-green fronds 3 to 5 metres long. Date palms are dioecious — male and female flowers on separate trees — and the orange-to-deep-brown drupes hang in enormous heavy clusters.
Uses
Fresh dates ripen through hard yellow (khalal), soft mahogany (rutab), and dried wrinkled (tamr) stages, all eaten. Famous varieties include Medjool, Deglet Noor, and Barhi. Beyond fresh consumption, dates are pressed into syrup, fermented into date wine, and ground into nutritious meal. The leaves are woven into mats and brooms, and the wood used as construction beams in palm-growing regions.
In culture
The date palm is the official tree of Israel and Saudi Arabia and a frequent emblem of Islamic art and architecture.
Find more trees by letter
Date Palm starts with D and ends with M. Browse other trees along the same letter.
Trees that contain a letter from "Date Palm":