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
Fruit tree pruning and training can also prevent later injury from weak crotches or forks (where a tree trunk splits into two or more branches) that break from the weight of fruit, snow, or ice on the branches. Some sustainable agriculture or permaculture personalities, such as Sepp Holzer and Masanobu Fukuoka, advocate and practice no-pruning methods, which runs counter to the widespread confidence in the idea that pruning produces superior results compared with not pruning. Many books about fruit-growing assert advantages and disadvantages of pruning or not pruning, although without randomized controlled trials, it is hard to separate theorizing and traditional knowledge from