Phoenix dactylifera (date or date palm) is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around Iraq. The species is widely cultivated and is reportedly naturalized in Australia, Spain, North Africa, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Cape Verde, the Sahel region of Africa, Mauritius, Réunion, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Israel, Iran, China, (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan), Fiji, New Caledonia, the United States (California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Puerto Rico), northern Mexico, El Salvador, the Leeward Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Dominican Republic. Phoenix dactylifera grows in height, growing singly or forming a clump with several stems from a single root system. The leaves are long, with spines on the petiole, and pinnate, with about 150 leaflets; the leaflets are long and wide. The full span of the crown ranges from . Dates contain 20–70 calories each, depending on size and variety.
