Phoenix theophrasti ancient Greek ‘father of botany,’ had described several types of palms, including one from Crete. Apart from the usually inedible dates and upright fruit clusters, the Cretan species can appear quite similar to the cultivated date ("Phoenix dactylifera"). "Phoenix theophrasti" grows up to 15 m tall, usually with several slender stems. The leaves are pinnate, 2–3 m long, with numerous rigid greyish-green linear leaflets 15–50 cm long on each side of the central rachis. Dead leaves are marcescent, remaining attached to the stem for years after withering. The fruit is an oval yellowish-brown drupe 1.5 cm long and 1 cm
Palm fruit juice Palm fruit juice Palm fruit juice or Tal er Rosh, () is sweet sap extracted from the fruit of palm trees in summer. It contains vitamins A, B, C, and the elements zinc, calcium, potassium, and iron. It also contains antioxidants. This is a symbolic and well-known food in Bengal in the summer. Numbers of popular Bengali foods are made using this palm fruit juice such as palm candy, pitha, pays, kheer, and taller boora (). Only the female palm tree gives the fruits. The age of the tree to starting to give fruits is normally 12 to 13 years.