Date palm Date palm Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from the Fertile Crescent region straddling between Egypt and Mesopotamia. The species is widely cultivated across Northern Africa, The Middle East, The Horn of Africa and South Asia, and is naturalized in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. "P. dactylifera" is the type species of genus "Phoenix", which contains 12–19 species of wild date palms, and is the major
Horsfield's fruit bat it inhabits a broad range of lowland habitats, from dense primary rain forest to agricultural land and suburban gardens. The four recognised subspecies are: Horsfield's fruit bats eat the fruit of strangler figs, "Elaeocarpus", and "Payena", and the flowers of bitter beans. They have been reported to pluck fruit from trees and carry it to roosts elsewhere to feed. During the dry season, when fruit is in short supply, they instead feed on pollen, which they take from a wide variety of plants. They live in small groups, consisting of a single adult male and up to five females and