Phoenix dactylifera L., Arecaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 10 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: date, date palm, kajoor

French: dattier, palmier dattier

Spanish: dátil, palmera datilera

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Imposing palm with a very slender trunk, up to 30 m tall, conspicuously covered with the remains of sheaths from fallen leaves. Its leaves, clustered together in a maximum number of 20-30 and forming a loose crownshaft, are pinnate, up to 6 m long, upper leaves are ascending, basal leaves are recurved, the segments are coriaceous, linear, rigid and sharp pointed, blue-green in colour. Its flowers, unisexual on dioecious plants, are small, whitish, fragrant, clustered in axillary spadices up to 120 cm long markedly bent downwards by their fruit weight. These fruits, commonly known as dates, are oblong berries, dark-orange when ripe, up to 50 cm long in the cultivated varieties, their flesh is sacchariferous, it contains one woody seed"  (Guglielmo et al., 2004).

Habitat/ecology:  "It grows well on most soils and stands periods of drought.  It requirees the sun and grows fast.  It can easily stand temperatures as cold as -9 degrees C without coming to any harm." (Pérez, 2003; p. 124). In Fiji, reported naturalized near Nandi, Viti Levu (Smith, 1979; p. 400).

Propagation:  Seed and suckers (Guglielmo et al., 2004).

Native range:  "Only cultivated, probable origin southwest Asia" (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) Observed in survey, no herbarium record.
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 86)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 400) Naturalized
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Huka (Huahuna, Uahuka) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 13)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 143)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 86)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (p. 6) Phoenix sp., possibly a hybrid. Vouchers cited: Oppenheimer & F. Duvall H100048 (BISH, PTBG), Oppenheimer & F. Duvall H100108 (BISH, PTBG), Oppenheimer & F. Duvall H100109 (BISH)
Kiribati Line Islands	Tabuaeran (Fanning) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Wester, Lyndon (1985) (p. 18)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Jaluit (Jãlwõj) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 86)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 104)
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 33)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 46) Phoenix sp.; voucher cited: Hassall 61 (SUVA)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 111) Voucher cited: MacKee 39605 Spontané
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Raoul Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1977) (p. 183) Relic of cultivation.
Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands	Pitcairn Island	introduced cultivated	St. John, H. (1987) (p. 25) Voucher cited: St. John 15019

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 187)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced cultivated	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 123) Phoenix sp.
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island		Stoddart, D. R./Taylor, J. D., eds. (1971) (p. 147) Phoenix sp. (P. dactylifera?). Voucher cited: Stoddart 895 (K, US)
Maldives Maldive Islands	Malè Atoll		Fosberg, F. R. (1957) (p. 14)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Agalega Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. (1983) (p. 113)

Comments:  Reported as possibly an invasive plant in the Galápagos Islands per Charles Darwin Research Station.

Additional information:
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

Additional online information about Phoenix dactylifera is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Phoenix dactylifera as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Phoenix dactylifera may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Fosberg, F. R. 1957. The Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 58. Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington. 37 pp.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesica 20:1-126.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. 1983. List of the recorded vascular flora of Agalega. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Guglielmo, Anna/Pavone, Pietro/Salmeri, Cristina. 2004. Palms.

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McCormack, Gerald. 2008. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2003. New plant records from Maui and Hawai‘i Counties. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 73:3-30.

Pérez, Juan-Alberto Rodríguez. 2003. Exotic flora of the Canary Islands. Editorial Everest, S.A. 192 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

St. John, H. 1987. An account of the flora of Pitcairn Island with new Pandanus species. Honolulu, 65 pp.

Stoddart, D. R./Taylor, J. D., eds. 1971. Geography and ecology of Diego Garcia Atoll, Chagos Archipelago. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 149. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 237 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Swarbrick, J. T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.

Sykes, W. R. 1977. Kermadec Islands flora: an annotated checklist. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 219, Wellington. 216 pp.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Wester, Lyndon. 1985. Checklist of the vascular plants of the northern Line Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Reseach Bulletin 287:1-38.

Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. 1999. Botanical survey of the United States of America Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Islands. Prepared for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the U. S. Army Environmental Center. 111 pp.