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
Parable of the barren fig tree eating the forbidden fruit. The story suggests that the vinedresser is an observant Jew and the owner is a pagan, unfamiliar with the laws of first fruits. Now that the tree is entering its productive period, the vinedresser has saved it from the ax, without letting the master know what happened to the earlier fruit. However, the owner has yet another surprise coming, because in the fourth year, all the fruit is offered to the Lord. Luke may have picked up a Jewish tale of a Jewish laborer outsmarting his pagan master. In the end, the faithful prevail. Although the