Egyptian scribes drew a single feathery palm leaf to stand for ‘month’ and ‘year’ was signified by a symbol picturing a crown of palm leaves. Since the beginning of Egypt’s history, dates have been a regular source of food.
It is in Arab culture that the date palm achieves its greatest esteem.
It is believed that date palm trees were introduced to India after the victory over India by Alexander the Great around 327 BC.
The date palm was carried to China from Iran about 1,700 years ago. Date palms were widespread in North Africa, the Near and Middle East, and a few locations in southern Europe by the Europeans first arrived in the New World.
Date palms were first introduced to Andalusia by the Arabs during the 7th and 8th centuries and later spread throughout the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa by the Bedouin tribes of the Arab countries.
The earliest record of date palm in the New World is from 1513 in eastern Cuba, and the tree apparently grew form seeds the Spanish had brought.
The first date palms is what would eventually became the United States appear to have grown from seed planted at Spanish missions of the Franciscan and Jesuit orders in California and Arizona.
History of date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L.)
