Date

• Mangosteen
• Fig
• Banana
• Sapote
• Luffa
• Melon Kiwano
• Durian
• Quince

Phoenix diactylifera: is a palm that may grow to 100 feet or more and is cultivated for its edible fruit.

Dioecious:

male and female

Dates were among the earliest cultivated foods.There are 60 references to date palms in the Old Testament.(Date stones have been found in Egypt that date to 4500 BC.)

Planting: Date palms are grown either from offshoots of the mother tree or from seeds. Date palms are said to thrive with their "feet in water and heads in the sun" because they need plenty of ground water to drink, but high heat and arid weather to produce fruit. Therefore, date palms grow best in hot and arid climates on earth.

Maturity: Dates ripen in six to seven months and are harvested from September through December.

Areas of Harvest: California grows 99.5% of all dates grown in the United States, and Arizona produces the rest. The Coachella Valley in California is known as the Date Capital of the world.

Nutritional Factors: Domestic chopped: serv size 1/2 cup total calories 245 fat gms 0.4 protein gms 1.8 fiber gms 4.5 chol mgs0 sodium mgs3 carbs gms 65.4 imported chopped: serv size 1/4 cup total calories 130 fat gms0.0 carbs gms31.0 fiber gms trace; protein gms 1.0 chol mgs0 sodium mgs0 (They are an excellent source of potassium.)