Date Palm
Raw unprocessed date palm fiber
Date Palm
[Phoenix dactylifera]
Family
Arecaceae
Height
21-23 meter. The leaves 4-6 meter.
Location and climate
Tropical and subtropical climate. Primarily cultivated in North Africa and the Middle East.
Pollination
Wind (wild) All cultivated date palms are pollinated by humans. Long ladders and special equipment are used when climbing the long palm trees.
Only the female plant carries fruit and one single male palm can pollinate up to 100 female plants. Most date farmers do not cultivate male palms at all. Instead the male flowers are bought on markets when it is time for pollination on the plantation.
Usage
The date fiber can be extracted from both the stem and the leaves and is a very strong fiber. Like flax, hemp and sisal the date fiber has tensile strength five times higher than structural steel.
Many parts of the palm can be used for woven textile, non woven quality, chopped parts for insulation and robe. Date palm is also used for bio polymer.
The date stone is used for cosmetics and sap can be harvested from the trunk.
According to fossil findings the date palm has existed more than 50 mio years.
8,5 mio tonnes of dates are produced every years.
4,5 mio tonnes of by- product after pruining makes this a very sustainable source of fiber for either textile or insulation.
