The Palm Tree
Palm tree
The palm tree is one of the most durable trees ever, and occupies an advanced position as one of the most famous and important trees planted in different regions around the world, which enter into many uses and have a range of benefits.
The main habitat of this type of trees may return to the Arab Peninsula or the Arabian Gulf in general. It is also widely distributed in Egypt, Iran, and some Maghreb countries, mainly Tunisia, Morocco,Iraq and others.
The palms are called many names that vary depending on the different areas where it is spread as scientifically called Phoenix dactylifera, and is called in English Date palm, and there are many types of palm trees.
Uses of palm tree
It is used in many uses, where wood from its trunk is used in carpentry and construction.
It is also used for heating in the winter as firewood for fuel, as well as fertilizer for plants and trees.
Its wood is used in the manufacture of cardboard and paper.
date palm in history
Fossil records show that the date palm has existed for at least 50 million years.
Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. They are believed to have originated around what is now Iraq. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in Mehrgarh around 7000 BCE, a Neolithic civilization in what is now western Pakistan, and in eastern Arabia between 5530 and 5320 calBC. and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt. The ancient Egyptians used the fruits to make date wine, and ate them at harvest. Evidence of cultivation is continually found throughout later civilizations in the Indus Valley, including the Harappan period of 2600 to 1900 BCE. The ancient Hebrews made the fruit into wine, vinegar, bread, and cakes, also using the fruit stones to fatten livestock and the wood to make utensils.
In Ancient Rome the palm fronds used in triumphal processions to symbolize victory were most likely those of Phoenix dactylifera. The date palm was a popular garden plant in Roman peristyle gardens, though it would not bear fruit in the more temperate climate of Italy. It is recognizable in frescoes from Pompeii and elsewhere in Italy, including a garden scene from the House of the Wedding of Alexander.
In later times, traders spread dates around South West Asia, northern Africa, and Spain. Dates were introduced into Mexico and California by the Spaniards in 1765, around Mission San Ignacio.
A date palm cultivar, probably what used to be called Judean date palm, is renowned for its long-lived orthodox seed, which successfully sprouted after accidental storage for 2000 years. The upper survival time limit of properly stored seeds remains unknown.
A genomic study from New York University Abu Dhabi Center for Genomics and Systems Biology showed that domesticated date palm varieties from North Africa, including well-known varieties such as Medjool and Deglet Nour, are a hybrid between Middle East date palms and the Cretan wild palm P. theophrasti. Date palms appear in the archaeological record in North Africa about 2,800 years ago, suggesting that the hybrid was spread by the Minoans or Phoenicians
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