Date palm

Jericho, one of the oldest cities in the world, has been famous for dates for millennia – and Deir al-Balah in Gaza means “monastery of dates”.

The date palm is a slender palm reaching 20–25 m, with a crown of long, pinnate leaves. The plants are dioecious, and growers pollinate the female flowers by hand. The fruits – dates – ripen in large bunches and are very sweet and nutritious. The palm needs heat and plenty of water at its roots, so it grows in oases and irrigated valleys.

Significance in the country

Plantations in the Jordan Valley around Jericho produce Medjool dates, an important Palestinian export. In the Gaza Strip date palms have grown beside houses and in coastal gardens for centuries, and the town of Deir al-Balah takes its name from them.

Where it grows

In the West Bank grown mainly in the Jordan Valley and the oasis of Jericho; in the Gaza Strip it grows especially around Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis.

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