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
Phoenix atlantica Islands, "P. dactylifera" L., "P. canariensis" Chabaud and "P. atlantica" A. Chev. While human activity has almost certainly introduced the former two species, the latter is endemic to the islands. Genetic isolation of Cape Verde Island "P. atlantica" was revealed by microsatellite markers and one chloroplast minisatellite marker to individuals of Phoenix from the Cape Verde Islands, "P. dactylifera", "P. canariensis" and "P. sylvestris", in order to assess the taxonomic position of "P. atlantica" within the genus. The DNA analysis by S. A. Henderson, N. Billotte and J.-C. Pintaud, demonstrated Genetic isolation of "Phoenix atlantica". "Phoenix atlantica" was first described