What is Dates Palm?
Dates palm, (Phoenix dactylifera), a tree of the palm family (Arecaceae) is cultivated for its sweet edible fruits. Dates have been prized since ancient times and may have originated in Iraq. The fruit has been a staple food and an essential source of wealth in the irrigated deserts of North Africa and the Middle East.
Scientific classification Of Date Palm
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Clade | Tracheophytes |
| Clade | Angiosperms |
| Clade | Monocots |
| Clade | Commelinids |
| Order | Arecales |
| Family | Arecaceae |
| Genus | Phoenix |
| Species | P. dactylifera |
Nutrition
| Water | 21% |
| Carbohydrates | 75% |
| Sugars | 63% |
| Dietary fiber | 8% |
| Protein, | 2% |
| Fat | Less Then 1% |
Spanish missionaries took the tree to the New World in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Dates are grown in the Canary Islands, North Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, Mexico, and the US state of California.
Dry dates
Dates have a long shelf life, and a wide variety, including the common degalit noor, are often sold dried and processed. Dried fruit is more than 50 percent sugar by weight and contains about 2 percent protein, fat, and minerals. Other types of dates, such as Medjool, are eaten as fresh produce and gradually shrivel and shrivel as they age.
Physical description
The palm is about 23 meters (75 feet) tall. Its stem, strongly marked with cut stubs of old leaf bases, terminates in a crown of elegant, glossy, pinnate leaves about 5 m (16 ft) tall. Flowering branches emerge from the leaf axils that emerged last year. Male and female flowers are produced on separate plants. Under cultivation, female flowers are artificially pollinated. A date is a seeded fruit, or drupe, usually elongated but varying greatly in shape, size, color, quality, and consistency of flesh according to culture and variety conditions. More than 1,000 dates can appear on a bunch weighing 8 kilograms (18 pounds) or more.
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Date fruit
The tree is propagated either by seeds or by suckers that develop near the base of the trunk during the early years of the palm’s life. Off-shoots are used for commercial planting. When the branches are three to six years old and have formed their roots, they are removed and planted. Palms start fruiting in 4 to 5 years and reach full fruit in 10 to 15 years, yielding 40 to 80 kg (90 to 180 pounds) or more each. Palms are known to live up to 150 years, but their fruit production declines, and they are replaced in the commercial culture at an early age.
Uses
All parts of the date palm yield products of economic value. Its trunk consists of wood material. The leaf cores provide material for crates and furniture. leaflets, for baskets; leaf bases, for fuel; for fruit stalks, rope and fuel; For fiber, covering, and packing materials; And the seeds are sometimes ground and used as stock feed. Syrup, wine, vinegar, and a strong liquor are obtained from the fruit. The sap is also used as a beverage, either fresh or fermented, but since the extraction method severely damages the date palm, only trees that bear very little fruit are used. When the date palm is cut, the tender terminal bud is eaten as a salad.
Burida, Saudi Arabia: Date market
Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq are the leading date-producing and exporting countries, although the fruit from Algeria and Tunisia are also popular in Europe. California is the primary US producer. The date palm is grown as an ornamental tree on the Mediterranean coasts of Europe, and its leaves are used to celebrate Palm Sunday among Christians and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) among Jews.