This is the phoenix known as the true date palm because it produces large edible fruit. Not grown from seed in Florida, these green-gray colored palms come shipped from Arizona and California where commercial groves plant them to raise fruit. They like dryer, cool night conditions so they fruit poorly in tropical and sub-tropical climates.
Maximum color is in summer when fruit matures.
Besides fruit, they can be tapped for sugar once a year and can yield as much as 6-8 pounds per extraction. Originally from North Africa, the dactylifera is slow growing but rated tall between 70-100 feet. It is clump growing palm, but it takes many years to see pups. Sprouts should be removed. Roots may also develop on the trunk over time, as high as 6 feet from the ground.