Date palm of the Tabernacles. Palm branches were scattered before Jesus as he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. 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
Fruit tree pruning and prune laterals not required to extend the framework to four buds. The tree is established, and should be pruned annually as described in the following section. Before pruning, distinguish between spur-bearing varieties, tip-bearing varieties, and an intermediate between the two that bears both on spurs and at the tips. Spur-bearing trees occur more frequently than tip-bearing trees, and they bear most of their fruit yearly at the end of short lateral pieces of wood (spurs) up to about 4 inches long. Spur-bearing types include apples of the varieties 'Cox's Orange Pippin', 'James Grieve' and 'Sunset', and pears such as