Phoenix (plant) hybridisation and cross-pollination. Several natural hybrids were hence obtained: "P. dactylifera X. P. sylvestris "(India)," P. dactylifera × P. canariensis" (Morocco, Algeria and Israel), and " P. dactylifera × P. reclinata "(Senegal). "Phoenix" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including "Paysandisia archon" and the "Batrachedra" species "B. amydraula" (recorded on "P. dactylifera"), "B. arenosella" and "B. isochtha" (feeds exclusively on "Phoenix" spp.). The fruit of "P. dactylifera", the date of commerce, is large with a thick layer of fruit pulp, edible, very sweet and rich in sugar; the other species have only a
Palm fruit juice Palm fruit juice Palm fruit juice or Tal er Rosh, () is sweet sap extracted from the fruit of palm trees in summer. It contains vitamins A, B, C, and the elements zinc, calcium, potassium, and iron. It also contains antioxidants. This is a symbolic and well-known food in Bengal in the summer. Numbers of popular Bengali foods are made using this palm fruit juice such as palm candy, pitha, pays, kheer, and taller boora (). Only the female palm tree gives the fruits. The age of the tree to starting to give fruits is normally 12 to 13 years.