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Phoenix
dactylifera- Date Palm
( Arecaceae)
About 17 species of dioecious palms originating in western
Asia and northern Africa with stiff basal spines or modified
pinnae on the leaves. Identification of Phoenix trees is very
difficult in cultivation. The best way to identify them is by
male flowers and fruit characteristics. This plant, with a slender
suckering trunk grows over 100 feet. The date is the fruit, a
drupe measuring 1-3 inches long. Date palms, commercially grown
in the Old World for the sweet, nutritious pulp of the fruit,
constitutes one of the most imporant foods of the Arabs. The
date of commerce is the cured and dried natural fruit. The trunk
is used for timber and the leaves for dwellings and many domestic
uses. In California and Arizona, it is widely cultivated for
ornament. Aside from the direct uses of the plant parts, the
date palm is valuable as a shade cover for other crops in hot
and dry areas.
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