Doum palm
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 Doum Palm in Northern Sudan
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| Hyphaene thebaica (L.) Mart. |
The doum palm (Hyphaene thebaica, الدوم in Arabic) is a type of palm tree, also called gingerbread tree, with edible oval fruit, originally native to the Nile valley. It is a member of the family Arecaceae. Its fibre and leaflets are used by people along the Nile to weave baskets (e.g. Material Culture of the Manasir).
The doum palm fruit is also known in Eritrea as Akat, or Akaat in the Tigrinya language. This large brown fruit is eaten dried.
It was considered sacred by the Ancient Egyptians and the stone was found in many pharaoh's tombs.
The doum is unique among palms because it branches.
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