A more graceful and slender palm tree than the Canary Island palm. The trunk is tall, and thin and has clearer foliage, with bluish-grey leaves. The females produce sweet, edible dates that are larger than the ones on the Canary Island palm These palm trees have been grown since ancient times at desert oases where, together with other species of fruit and horticultural trees, they have steadily replaced the original flora.

It appears to have been cultivated over 6,000 years ago in the Euphrates river valley for its dates, the main component of the diet of the inhabitants of the deserts. As well as the dates, almost all of the other parts of the tree are used: the trunk is used for wood; fibres are made from the leaves for baskets, string and Palm Sunday palms; the apical gemma, the flowers and the pollen are edible and the pine nuts and roots are used as livestock feed.