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
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