The date palm is a palm kind which grows particularly in hot areas. This type encloses 14 subspecies. To prosper the date palms also need water. The palm searches the water by many roots in the depth which are also visible above ground. It also manages with very salty water.
Because of her robustness against heat and wind, other plants can be grown under its shade like oranges or vegetables. The palm itself stands neither shade nor humidity still frost.
The date palm is one of the first cultivated plants of the world. It was already cultivated 5000 years ago with the Sumerians (today's Iraq). With the date palms there are male and female ones.
The pollination occurs through the wind, through bees, but mostly through the person. The date palm needs good care. The real date palm has relatively big commer-cial relevance in the countries of origin. The fruits are consumed freshly or dryly, the sheets and the wood are used as a building material or fuel.
Syrup, jam, oil or wine are also produced of the fruits. A date weighs approx. 10 grams, bigger kinds to 20 grams.
There are hundreds of date kinds with different colour, form and size. Some become as dry after the maturity as a nut, others remain as soft as a banana.
It mostly grows just single-born without branches and can seldom form lateral trunks. The sheets are pinnate; in the lower area they are prickly for the protection of the inflorescences or the dates. The sheets are differently long, to approx. 5 metres.
The date palm itself reaches a height of more than 30 metres and an age from till 100 years. The date contains a high portion in sugar: approx. 50%, a little water: to 20% as well as small quantities to mineral substances and roughage. With it the date a good energy source is on the move for, also in mueslis.