Saudi Arabia is the first in the world in producing dates.There are about 23 million date-palm trees in Saudi Arabia,yielding about 300 types of dates.The most important thing about the date palm is that it needs very little water even if it is salty water,it can also withstand scorching heat and very dry weather.
However dates are not the only product derived from the date palm.Every single part of the tree is useful from the roots to the leaves on its top,not only that but the many stages of the date are useful too......
ROOTS
The roots are whitish in colour and pointed when they first come out of the trunk,making it easy to pierce the soil,then the roots change to red then to brown and as the root gets older it gets stronger,and it is the least used part of the tree,as they are used only for feeding animals.
THE TRUNK
The cylindrical trunk is wooden with no branches,it is covered by some dark brown fibre called : "leef" and it protects the trunk from from outside elements.The trunk could to 25 meters in height.It stores large amounts of starch used by the palmtree during the summertime for the ripening of the fruits.
Since the trunk is very sturdy it is used for big jobs such as pillars that carry
the ceilings of houses,as well as frames for doors and windows.Sometimes ladders are made from the trunk and that us done by laying the trunk against the wall and then cutting grooves used as steps.It could also be cut into slabs and made into doors ,even huge castle and palace doors.Another use for the trunk is gutters for the roofs and that is by simply cutting the trunk lengthwise and carving the inside.Not only is the trunk used for buildings but it is used in many different aspect of farming: posts for holding pails in wells,huge gutters for irrigation,and lastly fuel for the houses when there is no other alternative.
LEAVES
Leaves are called "sa3af" in arabic, the leaf consists of three parts:
1)Palm branches stripped of their leaves : "jareed".
2)Palm leaves: "khooSs".
3)The end of the branch called "karb"and it is the end near the trunk,it is nearly triangular in shape.
Palm branches plus the leaves(sa3af):
-Used for making walls and ceilings,also fences between farms and house fences.It is also used as small fences that shield the small palmtrees until they grow stronger.
-Used as fertilizer by drying the sa3af and then pounding it into a fine powder.
-Green branches however are used for decorating purposes,and cleaning wall from dust,also used as fodder for the animals.
Jareed:(branches only):
This is the sa3af after the khouSs is removed from it and it is used for making the ceilings by tying rows of the branches with ropes of khouSs or of leef(fibre surrounding the trunk).The jareed is also used for making furniture such as beds seats,tables,baby cots ,baskets,bird cages and even huge baskest for carrying the dates in harvest season.Among other assorted things it is used for making boats by tying the branches together with leef.
KhouSs:(leaves):
It is cut from branches and used directly for many things:
-In building,fodder,and fuel.
-Weaved to make assorted baskets for different uses,also mats (instead of tablecloths)for serving food on,handheld fans ,brooms ,ropes,umbrella-like roofs and even toothpicks.
Karb:
The endmost part of the branch near the trunk,it is nearly triangular in shape,this part is used for women's hair conditioner and that is by simply pounding it into fine powder usually pink or brown in colour then mixed with perfumes and other liquids.Karb is also used as a lifesaver for those who are learning to swim,and that is by tying a number of pieces of karb together as a belt worn around the waist.It is also used as floaters for fishing nets,and since karb is very tough it can also be used as fuel.
Leef :
Leef is the fibre that surrounds the trunk to keep it safe from the outside elements and from the harm of animals.It has another feature as it is a good insulant,thus insulating the trunk from the very hot and very cold weather.Leef near the jummarah* is tender and yellowish white in colour.Leef is a fibrous matter weaved from very fine threads,very soft near the trunk and quite coarse at the far end.The leef is situated at the root of each "karb",therefore to remove the leef ,it must be loosened from the two sides of the karb.
All sorts and sizes of ropes are made from leef:ranging from huge ropes that hold ships to the moorage, to the ropes used for pulling the pails for getting water from the wells,to very thin ropes used to tie parcels (called dubarah,in arabic).
Leef is also used to strain liquids such as arabian coffee,laban* and ghee.
It is used as insulation while moving things,cleaning cloth for utensils as well as for bodies.Leef was also used in farming as dividers to help organize the running of water in different plantbeds,as well as covering the corymbs of dates as protection from the birds and insects such as locusts.It is used as well for protecting the palm shoots from the heat of the sun in summer and the cold in winter.Leef is very combustible because of its fine fibres thus making it suitable as a starter for lighting wood .
*laban=buttermilk
