The genus of palms which bear dates.

Date-tree

The genus of palms which bear dates.

Also known as Phoenix Dactylifera. The date palm tree is one of the oldest fruit trees in the world. Dates held a very important role in certain desert regions as the staple food crop.

Date Palm of the Lower Euphrates

Also known as Phoenix Dactylifera. The date palm tree is one of the oldest fruit trees in the world.…

"And they came unto the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it upon a staff between two; they brought also of the pomegranates, and of the figs. That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down from thence. And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days." Numbers 13:23-25 ASV
<p>Illustration of the twelve spies, including Joshua and Caleb, returning from the land of Canaan. They are carrying the grape clusters and other fruits they took from the land. Three men are pictured. The man in front is waving to Moses and the people. Moses can be seen in the background and is known because he is pictured with horns. The third man is carrying a basket on his head.

Joshua and Caleb Return from Canaan with the Other Spies

"And they came unto the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes,…

"Date Palm is a genus of palms, the most important species of which is the common date palm, the palm tree of Scripture, a native of the N. half of Africa, the S. W. of Asia, and some parts of India, and of which the cultivation is no less wide, and still extending. Some parts of China produce large crops. The stem, which is straight and simple, reaches a height of 30 to 60 feet, and bears a head of 40 to 80 glaucous pinnated leaves, 8 to 10 feet long, and a number of branching spadices, each of which on the female tree bears 180 to 200 fruits. A bunch of dates weighs 20 or 25 pounds, so that an average year's crop may be reckoned at 300 to 600 pounds per tree, and the yield per acre at about 12 times that of corn. This is one of the most important and useful of all the palms. In Egypt, and generally in North Africa, Persia, and Arabia, dates form the principal food, and date palms the principal wealth of the people."&mdash;(Charles Leonard-Stuart, 1911)

Date Palm

"Date Palm is a genus of palms, the most important species of which is the common date palm, the palm…

"The date is the fruit of a tall and graceful palm which shoots up a single straight stem to height of fifty or sixty feet, and then expands into a beautiful crown of leaves.

Date Tree

"The date is the fruit of a tall and graceful palm which shoots up a single straight stem to height…