The Date palm tree probably is the world’s oldest tree. Dates may be one of the oldest fruits on earth. Because of its long history the origin of the Medjool palm is unknown.

Records show that it was grown in Egypt in the fifth century B.C. There are many records of “the tree of life” in the history Mesopotamia (Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria), the Indus Valley (Pakistan), the Nile Valley (Africa) and the Mediterranean Riviera (Italy, Greece).

It is known that the date palm has been cultivated in the Middle East for more than 5000 years. Dates have been a staple food for thousand of years in this region. The fruits were widely traded at that time. Dates were considered royal delicacy “the fruits of Kings”.

The date palms came to the western world with missionaries who planted them around their missions in the 18th century. The dates were first introduced into Spain by the Moors. Later spanish missionaries introduced the trees to South and North Americas and Mexico in the 18th and 19th centures.

In the United States date palms were imported in 1927. Dr.Walter Swingle brought 11 Medjool offshoots for transplanting to California from Morocco. He was trying to save the Date palms  from extinction. A rare disease was destroying Moroco’s Medjool crop. Nine of the eleven offshots survived. From these original offshots the millions of Date palms grow today in the United States.

Return to Date Palm main page.