conserving the Doum Palm in Aqaba

I have never noticed these particular palm trees in Jordan, but it is interesting to learn something new. The nut, or fruit is quite large. So, for anyone going to Aqaba keep your eyes open!! T


Aqaba has a group of historical trees called the Doum Palm. In the past few years some of these trees have been cut down to make room for development. Recently the Aqaba branch of the Jordan Red Crescent has started to implement a series of actions designed to protect the trees in question. This is supported by the UNDP small grants programme and the Global Environmental Facility.

DOUM PALM (Hyphaene thebaica): A native of Upper Egypt, Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania, the doum palm was considered sacred by ancient Egyptians. Seeds of doum nuts have been found in the pharohs' tombs. The doum palm, also known as the gingerbread palm, grows a red-orange, apple-sized fruit that tastes like gingerbread. The fruit's hard, white nut is used to make buttons; Rind from doum nuts is used to make molasses; ground nuts are used to dress wounds. The palm's leaves are used to make mats, bind parcels and writing paper. The doum palm can reach heights of 20 to 30 ft.