Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the region from the Gulf States to India. It is cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle East, Australia, South and Southeast Asia, Portugal, Spain, coastal Mediterranean basin, and the desert regions of Southern California. It is naturalised in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. P. dactylifera is the type species of genus Phoenix, which contains 12–19 species of wild date palms.
Date palms reach up to 30 metres (98 ft) in height, growing singly or in clumps with several stems from a single root system. Slow-growing, they can reach over 100 years of age when maintained properly. Their born fruit (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 63–64% sugar by mass when dried, dates are consumed as sweet snacks on their own or with confections.
There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in Arabia since the 6th millennium BCE. Dates are "emblematic of oasis agriculture and highly symbolic in Christian and Jewish religions".
