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A Historical Look at the Palm Tree

Master gardener Maureen Gilmer, host of Weekend Gardening, shares some history about palm trees.

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	Even very young date palms produce a crop with a pollinator nearby. (Photos courtesy of Maureen Gilmer)
	Immature date clusters protected from birds and sunburn with paper.
	The Holy Land was replanted with palms from these California groves.

2,000-year-old seed has roots in King Herod's palace

By Maureen Gilmer

In Israel, at Kibbutz Ketura, a 14-inch seedling date palm goes by the name Methuselah.

The seed from which it sprouted 14 months ago was found in archeological excavations of King Herod's palace on Mount Masada. Lying dormant for 2,000 years, it is the oldest seed to ever produce a viable tree. And this is no ordinary date palm, but the extinct Judean form considered uniquely medicinal.

The Judean palms described in Roman writings and shown on their coins are endemic to the Holy Land. Enormous forests of these palms once covered this now barren landscape, the value of its date harvest invaluable to the economic viability of Judea. But these groves disappeared after the Romans left. Twentieth-century palm groves planted in Israel are not Judean, but imported from the date groves of California. Botanists are keen on discovering how the ancient date palm differs from our contemporary agricultural plants.

The date palm trees that fill scripture of many faiths are Phoenix dactylifera. The genus Phoenix relates to the palm's remarkable ability to regrow and fruit after near death, due to drought.

These rugged feather-fronded palms have long been associated with the Holy Land and figure into religious celebrations such as Palm Sunday. It has become a symbol of peace and of life because its shade and sweet fruit was vital to people in the deserts of northern Africa and the Middle East. Perhaps more important is that palms signal the presence of ground water, marking locations of wells and spring fed oases.

The assurance of a heavy date crop was always on the minds of Holy Land cultures. The species is a diecious plant, which means Phoenix dactyliferas can be either a male or female. The male palms tend to be scrubby in form with many growth points that produce pollen-bearing flowers. The females grow a single tall trunk that can reach 30 feet at maturity, producing numerous large clusters of flowers at the top.

In Israel it was common for the male flowers to be cut and placed in the foliage heads of female palms to help fertilize them more thoroughly. In the Talmud there is a story of a female palm tree in Jericho weeping for its male companion until a branch of the male was brought over.

In ancient times, the value of the male trees cannot be overestimated. Loss of the male flowers would prevent pollination and cut off all fruit production. For cultures dependent on that harvest, this loss meant famine.

When conquering armies invaded date palm-dependent lands, they often cut down the male palm trees to interrupt the food supply. It was similar to the Romans sowing salt in the fields of Carthage. It took many years, if not decades, for the male palms to regrow and produce enough pollen to fertilize the existing female palms. In the interim, locals would be preoccupied with finding enough food rather than fighting their conquerors.

Palms are one of the easiest plants to grow from seed. Pits from dried dates you buy at the store will sprout within a few weeks in ordinary potting soil. These palms are not tolerant of frost and should be considered a houseplant in areas where winter temperatures drop below freezing. But they are fast growers in containers, easily moved around with the seasons.

Even in areas where date palms grow outdoors, there is little chance a tree will bear fruit. An old expression says, "Date palms have their feet in the water and their heads in the fire." They require extreme dry heat and heavy irrigation to form dates.

So whether you grow a California date or one like Methuselah raised from the dustbin of history, all Phoenix dactyliferas carry an extraordinary heritage. It is perhaps the most ecumenical plant ever, shared by Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

And it is chronicled in the ancient literature of all three religions for its diverse powers--from an aphrodisiac to a contraceptive--and as a cure for a wide range of diseases, including cancer, malaria and toothache. Now modern scientists may one day have a chance to test those contentions.

(Maureen Gilmer is a horticulturist and host of Weekend Gardening. E-mail her at mo@moplants.com. For more information, visit: www.moplants.com.

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