Phoenix theophrasti
Phoenix theophrasti, the Cretan date palm, is a palm native to the eastern Mediterranean, in the southernmost points of Greece and Turkey. It, along with Chamaerops humilis are the only native palm species in the Mediterranean basin; areas forested with these species constitute Europe's only palm forests. Similarly in Turkey, it is the only native palm species; all other species—although much more common—are introduced.
Taxonomy
The specific epithet theophrasti was chosen by the Swiss botanist Werner Greuter in 1967 from the fact that Theophrastus, the ancient Greek "father of botany", had described several types of palms, including one from Crete.A genomic study from New York University Abu Dhabi Center for Genomics and Systems Biology showed that domesticated date palm varieties from North Africa, including well-known varieties such as Medjool and Deglet Noor, are a hybrid between Middle East date palms and P. theophrasti.
Description
Apart from the usually inedible dates and upright fruit clusters, the Cretan species can appear quite similar to the cultivated date.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 diameter and containing a single large seed. The fruit pulp is too thin and fibrous to be of agricultural significance and has an acrid taste, though the fruits are sometimes eaten by the locals.