WEBVTT 00:01.999 --> 00:05.250 align:start It's tall. 00:05.250 --> 00:07.999 align:start It's distinctive. 00:07.999 --> 00:09.999 align:start .it's like the palm of your hand, 00:09.999 --> 00:12.999 align:start radiates out from a central point. 00:12.999 --> 00:15.999 align:start It's graceful. 00:15.999 --> 00:22.751 align:start It's popular. 00:22.751 --> 00:24.375 align:start These are vicious spines. 00:24.375 --> 00:29.999 align:start And parts of it are delicious. 00:30.334 --> 00:32.209 align:start Funding for The Desert Speaks 00:32.209 --> 00:34.751 align:start was provided by Desert Program Partners, 00:34.751 --> 00:37.959 align:start representing concerned viewers making a financial commitment 00:37.959 --> 00:41.999 align:start to the education about and preservation of deserts. 00:41.999 --> 00:47.626 align:start And by the Stonewall Foundation. 00:49.999 --> 01:14.999 align:start ♪ music ♪ 01:17.999 --> 01:20.999 align:start The palm tree has long been a symbol of deserts 01:20.999 --> 01:24.459 align:start and the oases that made them inhabitable. 01:24.459 --> 01:28.999 align:start For desert dwellers a palm tree was an indicator of water, 01:28.999 --> 01:32.334 align:start a source of shade and most important a 01:32.334 --> 01:37.042 align:start provider of dates, a basic food. 01:37.042 --> 01:40.209 align:start The date palm arrived in the southwestern United 01:40.209 --> 01:43.876 align:start States about 100 years ago from the Middle East. 01:43.876 --> 01:51.209 align:start The desert fan palm has been around for millions of years. 01:51.209 --> 01:53.834 align:start The Coachella Valley at the edge of the Sonoran 01:53.834 --> 01:57.751 align:start Desert is the lowest and hottest inhabited place 01:57.751 --> 01:59.125 align:start in the western hemisphere. 01:59.125 --> 02:05.083 align:start It is also the place to see and learn about palms. 02:05.083 --> 02:08.000 align:start In the southwestern United States the desert fan palm 02:08.000 --> 02:12.375 align:start isthemost planted landscaping tree so it's, 02:12.375 --> 02:13.999 align:start it's done rather well. 02:13.999 --> 02:16.999 align:start If you look in the Coachella Valley there are 02:16.999 --> 02:19.125 align:start tens of thousands of 'em planted and that makes 02:19.125 --> 02:21.834 align:start perfect ecological sense because that's where the 02:21.834 --> 02:26.167 align:start desert fan palm originated and its in it's home so 02:26.167 --> 02:32.751 align:start Palm Springs is appropriately named. 02:32.751 --> 02:35.292 align:start The world's expert on desert fan palms is my 02:35.292 --> 02:40.417 align:start friend and Palm Springs resident Jim Cornett. 02:40.417 --> 02:44.334 align:start Where did these fan palms come from? 02:44.334 --> 02:45.501 align:start Were they looted? 02:45.501 --> 02:48.999 align:start Most of them came from some of the original oases 02:48.999 --> 02:52.000 align:start that were here around the turn of the last century 02:52.000 --> 02:54.999 align:start around 1900 and some of them were pulled out of the 02:54.999 --> 02:58.834 align:start oases and planted on the main boulevard in Palm Springs. 02:58.834 --> 03:01.250 align:start But they put in a lot of new young palms now to 03:01.250 --> 03:03.792 align:start replace some of the older ones that have died. 03:03.792 --> 03:06.000 align:start But they are really, they, they're the authentic 03:06.000 --> 03:07.959 align:start palm for which Palm Springs is named. 03:07.959 --> 03:11.209 align:start This is desert fan palms, the same palms we've seen 03:11.209 --> 03:13.792 align:start in the wild oases. 03:13.792 --> 03:16.876 align:start So Palm Springs is famous for more than just palms? 03:16.876 --> 03:18.959 align:start Yeah, it's famous for all the Hollywood celebrities 03:18.959 --> 03:23.125 align:start that either had full time homes here or part time homes, 03:23.125 --> 03:26.125 align:start Phyllis Diller, Bob Hope. 03:26.125 --> 03:26.999 align:start Bob Hope. 03:26.999 --> 03:29.209 align:start Do your children know who Bob Hope was? 03:29.209 --> 03:31.459 align:start My children know who Bob Hope was. 03:31.459 --> 03:32.250 align:start They do that. 03:32.250 --> 03:34.918 align:start Your grandchildren probably won't. 03:34.918 --> 03:36.626 align:start Ginger Rogers. 03:36.626 --> 03:38.417 align:start I have no idea who that is. 03:38.417 --> 03:40.042 align:start Well, that shows how you're, 03:40.042 --> 03:42.918 align:start you're just one of the younger generation. 03:42.918 --> 03:43.292 align:start I guess. 03:43.292 --> 03:45.792 align:start And she wasn't married to Roy Rogers either. 03:45.792 --> 03:46.792 align:start That's good to know. 03:46.792 --> 03:48.292 align:start She was in the theater. 03:48.292 --> 03:49.999 align:start Good to know. 03:49.999 --> 03:52.709 align:start The desert fan palm is responsible for a lot of 03:52.709 --> 03:56.042 align:start place names in southeastern California. 03:56.042 --> 03:58.417 align:start Of course there's Palm Springs but then there's 03:58.417 --> 04:05.334 align:start 29 Palms, Thousand Palms, Desert Palms, Palm Oasis. 04:05.334 --> 04:09.959 align:start All this is a tribute to washingtonia filifera, 04:09.959 --> 04:14.626 align:start the desert fan palm. 04:14.626 --> 04:17.999 align:start The Palm Canyon area, which is the largest 04:17.999 --> 04:21.292 align:start undisturbed palm oasis on Planet Earth, 04:21.292 --> 04:24.000 align:start is being managed by the Agua Caliente band of 04:24.000 --> 04:27.751 align:start Cahuilla Indians and it's been land in their tribe 04:27.751 --> 04:31.626 align:start for actually over a couple thousand years because 04:31.626 --> 04:33.999 align:start that's how long they've been here. 04:33.999 --> 04:36.999 align:start There are 2,511 trees here and there's no other 04:36.999 --> 04:40.751 align:start desert with an oasis that has as many trees 04:40.751 --> 04:42.999 align:start as does this canyon. 04:42.999 --> 04:46.501 align:start It's shadowy, it's much cooler down here than 04:46.501 --> 04:47.999 align:start it was up there. 04:47.999 --> 04:49.167 align:start It really is. 04:49.167 --> 04:51.918 align:start We're surrounded by hot, dry desert and now we're 04:51.918 --> 04:53.999 align:start in an environment that's 25 degrees cooler than the 04:53.999 --> 04:56.250 align:start surrounding desert, 25 degrees cooler when we're 04:56.250 --> 04:57.999 align:start in them middle of the oasis. 04:57.999 --> 04:59.999 align:start So how do you tell the difference between a 04:59.999 --> 05:01.999 align:start date palm and a desert fan palm? 05:01.999 --> 05:03.999 align:start Well, the easiest way to tell is by looking at the 05:03.999 --> 05:06.999 align:start leaf because the desert fan palm has what we call 05:06.999 --> 05:08.292 align:start a palmate leaf. 05:08.292 --> 05:10.125 align:start It's like the palm of your hand, 05:10.125 --> 05:12.667 align:start radiates out from a central point here. 05:12.667 --> 05:14.542 align:start And you could use it as a fan. 05:14.542 --> 05:16.209 align:start Yes, a very good fan. 05:16.209 --> 05:17.083 align:start And it's huge. 05:17.083 --> 05:19.209 align:start So the date palms they would come out 05:19.209 --> 05:21.167 align:start like a feather, a long thing with. 05:21.167 --> 05:23.083 align:start Feather of a bird and it's what we 05:23.083 --> 05:24.792 align:start call a penately compound leaf. 05:24.792 --> 05:27.667 align:start It has all little leaflets coming off of the entire 05:27.667 --> 05:29.584 align:start stem of the leaf. 05:29.584 --> 05:31.584 align:start One of the things that's quite distinctive about 05:31.584 --> 05:34.584 align:start the desert fan palm are these threads that 05:34.584 --> 05:36.250 align:start peel off on the edges. 05:36.250 --> 05:39.125 align:start The Indians would use these threads sometimes 05:39.125 --> 05:40.999 align:start to make baskets. 05:40.999 --> 05:42.125 align:start It makes a great sound. 05:42.125 --> 05:44.999 align:start Hey, listen, can you imagine 40 Native Americans 05:44.999 --> 05:48.042 align:start all at the same time ripping those off. 05:48.042 --> 05:49.834 align:start What music to my ears. 05:49.834 --> 05:51.417 align:start We call that a party. 05:51.417 --> 05:52.959 align:start Is that right? 05:52.959 --> 05:54.999 align:start Great sound. 05:54.999 --> 05:56.042 align:start Nice. 05:56.042 --> 05:57.167 align:start Yeah. 05:57.167 --> 05:59.751 align:start The Cahuilla Indians, the native people to this 05:59.751 --> 06:01.876 align:start region, have lived in and around the palm oases for 06:01.876 --> 06:05.501 align:start at least 3,000 years and they have been managing 06:05.501 --> 06:07.999 align:start these oases since that time. 06:07.999 --> 06:09.626 align:start They have been collected fruits, 06:09.626 --> 06:12.999 align:start they've been grinding the palm fruits in bedrock mortars. 06:12.999 --> 06:14.501 align:start So you sit like this, huh? 06:14.501 --> 06:16.125 align:start Yeah, just like that. 06:16.125 --> 06:17.667 align:start Straddle it. 06:17.667 --> 06:18.999 align:start Get the pestle. 06:18.999 --> 06:20.999 align:start And when you get tired of grinding you look up and 06:20.999 --> 06:22.999 align:start look at the palms out there and you think of how 06:22.999 --> 06:25.459 align:start cool it is down there and you get back to work. 06:25.459 --> 06:27.999 align:start And they've occupied this area right up until 06:27.999 --> 06:29.250 align:start the present time. 06:29.250 --> 06:31.542 align:start Although today of course it's quite a tourist 06:31.542 --> 06:33.209 align:start attraction with over 200,000 06:33.209 --> 06:36.542 align:start tourists visiting the canyons every single year. 06:36.542 --> 06:39.292 align:start Well, boy, this is an impressive grove. 06:39.292 --> 06:40.000 align:start It is. 06:40.000 --> 06:42.834 align:start The locals call this The Cathedral because it's 06:42.834 --> 06:45.999 align:start so elevated and so quiet in here. 06:45.999 --> 06:48.167 align:start And it's dark, it has a mystical feel to it. 06:48.167 --> 06:50.999 align:start Right in the middle of it the sun never hits the 06:50.999 --> 06:53.584 align:start ground even in the summer. 06:53.584 --> 06:56.000 align:start We're in the Colorado Desert, the hottest, 06:56.000 --> 06:58.542 align:start driest subdivision of the Sonoran Desert and, 06:58.542 --> 07:02.667 align:start and yet we have over 2,000 palm trees here. 07:02.667 --> 07:05.125 align:start Now the reason for that is there's a fault called the 07:05.125 --> 07:07.751 align:start Palm Canyon Fault, which is an offshoot of the 07:07.751 --> 07:10.250 align:start San Andreas Fault, that has created the canyon and 07:10.250 --> 07:13.751 align:start then that fault is at the base of the steepest 07:13.751 --> 07:15.999 align:start mountains in all of North America, 07:15.999 --> 07:19.999 align:start the northern edge of the San Jacinto Mountains. 07:19.999 --> 07:22.083 align:start So the mountains collect an incredible amount of 07:22.083 --> 07:25.000 align:start water when storms come through and a lot of that 07:25.000 --> 07:27.999 align:start water runs down these canyons year round 07:27.999 --> 07:30.999 align:start providing an abundance of water in an otherwise 07:30.999 --> 07:33.999 align:start very, very dry environment. 07:33.999 --> 07:35.999 align:start Man, we've got water in the desert. 07:35.999 --> 07:37.709 align:start That's a little bit unusual. 07:37.709 --> 07:40.000 align:start To say the least it's not expected. 07:40.000 --> 07:42.667 align:start They can go a few months without water but in 07:42.667 --> 07:46.042 align:start general for palms to be healthy and do well they 07:46.042 --> 07:48.709 align:start require permanently moist soil. 07:48.709 --> 07:50.999 align:start That shows you that at least recent history this 07:50.999 --> 07:53.000 align:start has been a well-watered canyon. 07:53.000 --> 07:54.542 align:start Yes, definitely. 07:54.542 --> 07:56.292 align:start Well, here's a weird looking guy. 07:56.292 --> 07:58.751 align:start This is not a tall, straight palm. 07:58.751 --> 07:59.918 align:start Not this one. 07:59.918 --> 08:02.792 align:start This one has been alternately trying to get 08:02.792 --> 08:05.667 align:start more sunlight by growing away from the other palms 08:05.667 --> 08:08.083 align:start and then it's also, in decades past, 08:08.083 --> 08:10.999 align:start was undercut by floods that came through here and 08:10.999 --> 08:13.999 align:start that resulted in it tilting even further. 08:13.999 --> 08:16.417 align:start And so it took away part of its support here and 08:16.417 --> 08:17.999 align:start it started to go that way. 08:17.999 --> 08:19.334 align:start Yeah, started to lean. 08:19.334 --> 08:21.999 align:start And now it's trying to grow back up again. 08:21.999 --> 08:23.999 align:start So they all want to grow toward the sun 08:23.999 --> 08:26.042 align:start to get sun no matter what. 08:26.042 --> 08:26.918 align:start Yep. 08:26.918 --> 08:29.459 align:start The desert fan palm, known to botanists as 08:29.459 --> 08:31.000 align:start washingtonia filifera, named after our first 08:31.000 --> 08:34.999 align:start president, is the only palm native to the western 08:34.999 --> 08:37.999 align:start United States and it's the largest palm in terms of 08:37.999 --> 08:42.501 align:start mass of weight anywhere in North America. 08:42.501 --> 08:45.250 align:start Well, this grove's got a lot of bare trunks. 08:45.250 --> 08:49.667 align:start It's result of a fire that came through here in 1980 08:49.667 --> 08:52.999 align:start and burned all the dead leaves off the trunks and 08:52.999 --> 08:57.751 align:start now we can see the, the bark or what I should 08:57.751 --> 08:58.999 align:start call the pseudo-bark. 08:58.999 --> 09:00.999 align:start So they don't really have a bark then, do they? 09:00.999 --> 09:03.042 align:start No, and we call it a pseudo-bark cause it looks 09:03.042 --> 09:05.751 align:start like bark, you touch it and it feels like bark but 09:05.751 --> 09:07.209 align:start it's really something else. 09:07.209 --> 09:10.459 align:start It's the, the base of leaf stems is what we're seeing 09:10.459 --> 09:14.125 align:start and each ridge is one group of leaves that grew 09:14.125 --> 09:16.083 align:start at the crown of the palm. 09:16.083 --> 09:17.959 align:start So they leave that scar. 09:17.959 --> 09:18.999 align:start Yeah. 09:18.999 --> 09:20.999 align:start It's the most tolerant palm in terms of cold 09:20.999 --> 09:22.999 align:start weather, it can tolerate temperatures well below 09:22.999 --> 09:25.417 align:start freezing for many hours and occasionally that 09:25.417 --> 09:27.501 align:start happens, although less so these days. 09:27.501 --> 09:30.542 align:start And it's also the only palm tree in the world 09:30.542 --> 09:33.918 align:start who's dead leaves adhere to the trunk throughout 09:33.918 --> 09:35.167 align:start the life of the palm. 09:35.167 --> 09:38.167 align:start So these palms don't propagate through pups or 09:38.167 --> 09:40.959 align:start offshoots or shoots or anything like that. 09:40.959 --> 09:44.083 align:start No, they germinate from seeds and start from 09:44.083 --> 09:45.999 align:start seeds like, like these here. 09:45.999 --> 09:49.918 align:start This is a coyote scat and in the coyote scat there 09:49.918 --> 09:52.876 align:start are all these seeds of the, the palm. 09:52.876 --> 09:54.834 align:start So the fruits fall from the tree, 09:54.834 --> 09:57.042 align:start coyotes eat the fruits to get the sweet flesh that's 09:57.042 --> 09:59.918 align:start around it and then they void out the seeds intact 09:59.918 --> 10:02.083 align:start in their droppings and then these will germinate 10:02.083 --> 10:04.999 align:start very readily after they've gone through the coyote. 10:04.999 --> 10:07.792 align:start They grow very fast. 10:07.792 --> 10:10.999 align:start In certain conditions they can put on two feet of 10:10.999 --> 10:14.792 align:start woody trunk each year and they grow very rapidly up 10:14.792 --> 10:17.999 align:start until about 20 feet and at that height they'll start 10:17.999 --> 10:21.834 align:start producing flowers first of course and then fruit. 10:21.834 --> 10:25.000 align:start They can then continue living for up to 150 years 10:25.000 --> 10:27.417 align:start but the average lifespan of a desert fan palm is 10:27.417 --> 10:31.542 align:start about 90 to 100 years, so about the same as a human. 10:31.542 --> 10:35.083 align:start These may be fan palms but these would not make 10:35.083 --> 10:36.542 align:start a very nice handle. 10:36.542 --> 10:38.709 align:start These are vicious spines on here. 10:38.709 --> 10:40.125 align:start They're pretty wicked. 10:40.125 --> 10:41.709 align:start If we go back 10,000 years ago, 10:41.709 --> 10:44.042 align:start mammoths would visit the oases and the palms had 10:44.042 --> 10:47.209 align:start these spines on their petials which kept the 10:47.209 --> 10:50.375 align:start mammoth from eating the growing tip, that's how 10:50.375 --> 10:53.999 align:start they defended themselves against hungry herbivores. 10:53.999 --> 10:55.834 align:start They are vicious. 10:55.834 --> 10:57.999 align:start The good news is that desert fan palms are 10:57.999 --> 11:00.125 align:start thriving like they never have before. 11:00.125 --> 11:04.042 align:start A part of that we believe is because of global warming. 11:04.042 --> 11:06.709 align:start It's a little bit warmer now and the palms have 11:06.709 --> 11:07.999 align:start tropical affinities. 11:07.999 --> 11:09.792 align:start They love warm weather. 11:09.792 --> 11:12.000 align:start A lot of insects live in the palm oases. 11:12.000 --> 11:15.999 align:start In fact one of the most common one is the Apache cicada. 11:15.999 --> 11:21.999 align:start This isn't the cicada itself, this is it's exoskeleton. 11:21.999 --> 11:25.959 align:start The palms are so bottom heavy that a healthy palm 11:25.959 --> 11:28.542 align:start will never be blown over by the wind because of 11:28.542 --> 11:31.834 align:start this mass of thousands and thousands of roots that 11:31.834 --> 11:34.834 align:start totally occupy the soil making the palm heaviest 11:34.834 --> 11:39.459 align:start on the bottom and lightest actually on the top. 11:39.459 --> 11:41.167 align:start The other thing that's interesting about the 11:41.167 --> 11:43.167 align:start roots is they're so dense and there are so many of 11:43.167 --> 11:45.501 align:start them that it crowds out the root structure of any 11:45.501 --> 11:48.167 align:start other plant species and that's another reason that 11:48.167 --> 11:50.584 align:start the palms are such good competitors, 11:50.584 --> 11:53.125 align:start cause no other plant can find space to grow around 11:53.125 --> 11:57.626 align:start them because of this dense mass of roots. 11:57.626 --> 11:59.999 align:start The desert fan palm has survived on its own 11:59.999 --> 12:02.999 align:start through everything that changing climates 12:02.999 --> 12:04.125 align:start could throw at it. 12:04.125 --> 12:07.125 align:start The date palms in the United States, however, 12:07.125 --> 12:10.626 align:start require constant human attention. 12:10.626 --> 12:12.792 align:start A few families have been responsible for their 12:12.792 --> 12:17.209 align:start commercial success in the Coachella Valley. 12:17.209 --> 12:20.999 align:start All the ladies here would earn a little extra money 12:20.999 --> 12:26.292 align:start in the fall when they would have the dates to grade. 12:26.292 --> 12:26.999 align:start Uh huh. 12:26.999 --> 12:29.167 align:start So, no matter what you did, 12:29.167 --> 12:32.501 align:start you had to go grade dates in the fall. 12:32.501 --> 12:33.292 align:start Uh huh. 12:33.292 --> 12:34.999 align:start So it's seasonal work. 12:34.999 --> 12:36.000 align:start Oh, yes, uh huh. 12:36.000 --> 12:37.999 align:start You were married to my Uncle Kenny. 12:37.999 --> 12:38.542 align:start Correct. 12:38.542 --> 12:41.792 align:start Who was the grandson of William Paul. 12:41.792 --> 12:42.334 align:start Right. 12:42.334 --> 12:43.999 align:start And you're the great grandson. 12:43.999 --> 12:45.999 align:start And I'm the great grandson, one of them. 12:45.999 --> 12:48.584 align:start When my great grandfather showed up on this piece of 12:48.584 --> 12:54.209 align:start land it was all sand dunes and mesquite and brush, 12:54.209 --> 12:58.167 align:start just pretty adventurous pioneer types imported 12:58.167 --> 13:04.501 align:start dates from Algeria, Morocco and Northern Africa. 13:04.501 --> 13:07.459 align:start They had to go through a lot to turn this into any 13:07.459 --> 13:10.584 align:start kind of agricultural production. 13:10.584 --> 13:14.999 align:start This isn't the fertile mid-West we're looking at here. 13:14.999 --> 13:17.999 align:start The U.S. government had done some studies in various areas 13:17.999 --> 13:20.999 align:start in Arizona and southern California here. 13:20.999 --> 13:23.999 align:start They thought the Coachella Valley would be a great 13:23.999 --> 13:25.626 align:start place to grow dates. 13:25.626 --> 13:28.626 align:start It had a very similar soil type and climate and 13:28.626 --> 13:32.792 align:start plenty of water in its aquifer. 13:32.792 --> 13:34.999 align:start Great grandfather used to say that palms need to 13:34.999 --> 13:38.125 align:start have their heads in the sun and their feet in the water. 13:38.125 --> 13:41.334 align:start So this was a place that palms could do that 13:41.334 --> 13:43.000 align:start and you could grow dates. 13:43.000 --> 13:45.999 align:start In those days everybody was a visionary. 13:45.999 --> 13:50.375 align:start Your grandfather I think recognized the fact that there 13:50.375 --> 13:57.459 align:start was money to be made but only if you got a large planting. 13:57.459 --> 13:59.999 align:start You knew gotta sell it. 13:59.999 --> 14:02.167 align:start He was good at that. 14:02.167 --> 14:04.999 align:start As the fortunes of some families declined the 14:04.999 --> 14:12.709 align:start fortunes of other families increased. 14:13.792 --> 14:17.667 align:start For years I've passed places out here in the hot 14:17.667 --> 14:20.959 align:start desert that said "date shakes" and I never 14:20.959 --> 14:22.999 align:start had the guts to try one. 14:22.999 --> 14:28.501 align:start I suppose that an elegant person would use a spoon. 14:28.501 --> 14:31.584 align:start Mm. 14:31.584 --> 14:36.417 align:start Thank you dates. 14:36.999 --> 14:39.999 align:start The tastiest kind of date I'm told is called the 14:39.999 --> 14:43.083 align:start medjool and this tree has some and the only way to do it 14:43.083 --> 14:49.417 align:start here is the old-fashioned way, on a ladder. 14:49.417 --> 14:55.250 align:start So it takes awhile to get up but I'm told that it's worth it. 14:55.250 --> 14:58.709 align:start The medjools are supposed to be very sweet and I 14:58.709 --> 15:02.959 align:start hate to disrupt anybody's insect protection but I 15:02.959 --> 15:05.999 align:start gotta move this to get to the medjools. 15:05.999 --> 15:07.626 align:start There's one. 15:07.626 --> 15:10.999 align:start Now, oh, it's very sweet. 15:10.999 --> 15:14.375 align:start This is as good a date as you'll ever get and you 15:14.375 --> 15:17.000 align:start know it's organic, fresh from the tree. 15:17.000 --> 15:21.667 align:start It gives you courage, strength and if you start 15:21.667 --> 15:27.542 align:start oscillating on the ladder you just need another date. 15:27.542 --> 15:32.667 align:start This is the old way. 15:33.334 --> 15:35.167 align:start How much water do your trees in here use? 15:35.167 --> 15:39.334 align:start They usually use about 8 acre feet per year per acre. 15:39.334 --> 15:41.250 align:start Now that's a lot more than. 15:41.250 --> 15:43.459 align:start My dad came here in 1912. 15:43.459 --> 15:49.459 align:start He started the date orchard here soon after that. 15:49.459 --> 15:53.542 align:start In those years cotton was the big crop and onions 15:53.542 --> 15:56.125 align:start and things like that, and vegetables. 15:56.125 --> 15:59.000 align:start But, and gradually they got into dates. 15:59.000 --> 16:02.125 align:start Like the medjools, you know, they first came in and 16:02.125 --> 16:06.999 align:start farmers would get a small number of trees. 16:06.999 --> 16:09.209 align:start As they produced offshoots, 16:09.209 --> 16:14.000 align:start they should plant those and it would build up from there. 16:14.000 --> 16:15.959 align:start How much rainfall do they get here? 16:15.959 --> 16:17.999 align:start I mean, this is a very dry place, right? 16:17.999 --> 16:20.459 align:start We get, our average rainfall here is about 16:20.459 --> 16:21.834 align:start 3 inches per year. 16:21.834 --> 16:25.125 align:start I see, so basically it's all coming from, from irrigation. 16:25.125 --> 16:26.876 align:start From irrigation. 16:26.876 --> 16:29.999 align:start Part of it is well water and part of it is from 16:29.999 --> 16:32.709 align:start the Colorado River. 16:32.709 --> 16:36.083 align:start That production though from that 8 acre feet, 16:36.083 --> 16:37.083 align:start that's all food. 16:37.083 --> 16:41.959 align:start That's all food and there is, per acre you should 16:41.959 --> 16:46.584 align:start get well over 10,000 pounds per, per acre. 16:46.584 --> 16:48.959 align:start 10,000 pounds of dates per acre? 16:48.959 --> 16:50.417 align:start Of dates per acre. 16:50.417 --> 16:51.792 align:start That's pretty good. 16:51.792 --> 16:53.000 align:start That's pretty good production. 16:53.000 --> 16:55.459 align:start That's, that's a lot of, that's a lot of food. 16:55.459 --> 16:58.918 align:start We usually start harvest right after Labor Day and 16:58.918 --> 17:02.584 align:start then we're just finishing right now, 17:02.584 --> 17:06.501 align:start which is the latter part of October. 17:06.501 --> 17:07.999 align:start This is normal. 17:07.999 --> 17:15.459 align:start Some varieties it takes longer for them to mature. 17:16.042 --> 17:17.999 align:start They go all over the country. 17:17.999 --> 17:20.501 align:start Quite a lot of them are exported to Europe. 17:20.501 --> 17:24.667 align:start A lot depends on the Muslim population because 17:24.667 --> 17:27.999 align:start they are big date eaters. 17:27.999 --> 17:30.792 align:start Most of the Americans don't come from a country, 17:30.792 --> 17:38.584 align:start from areas that, where they are used to eating dates. 17:38.584 --> 17:41.876 align:start Up on the drying racks we see another reason why 17:41.876 --> 17:44.999 align:start dates seem to do particularly well here 17:44.999 --> 17:46.792 align:start in the heat of the Coachella Valley. 17:46.792 --> 17:50.167 align:start Dates need hot weather to grow, they need hot, 17:50.167 --> 17:54.999 align:start dry weather to dry to the perfect moisture content. 17:54.999 --> 17:58.667 align:start And these will keep for a long time when the sun 17:58.667 --> 18:02.334 align:start has done it's thing. 18:02.334 --> 18:07.083 align:start ♪ music ♪ 18:07.083 --> 18:09.999 align:start How many dates pass through your 18:09.999 --> 18:11.375 align:start operation here a year? 18:11.375 --> 18:13.834 align:start Oh, about a million pounds through this operation and 18:13.834 --> 18:16.959 align:start another million pounds through our other packing house. 18:16.959 --> 18:17.918 align:start A million pounds. 18:17.918 --> 18:19.999 align:start That, that's a lot of tonnage. 18:19.999 --> 18:20.999 align:start That's a lot of tonnage. 18:20.999 --> 18:22.999 align:start Now, where are these dates mostly going? 18:22.999 --> 18:24.459 align:start Oh, they'll go over the world. 18:24.459 --> 18:25.999 align:start Some will go to New Zealand, Australia, 18:25.999 --> 18:28.459 align:start some will go to the various different European countries, 18:28.459 --> 18:31.292 align:start a lot here domestically in the U.S. as well. 18:31.292 --> 18:32.999 align:start We take pride in making sure that we have good 18:32.999 --> 18:35.999 align:start quality dates and in order to do that you really have 18:35.999 --> 18:37.250 align:start to grow 'em yourself. 18:37.250 --> 18:39.209 align:start You really have to take care. 18:39.209 --> 18:40.999 align:start To have the control over 'em. 18:40.999 --> 18:42.626 align:start To have the control over all your, 18:42.626 --> 18:44.459 align:start your, your quality from the growing all the way on 18:44.459 --> 18:46.834 align:start through the packing and the boxing up of the fruit. 18:46.834 --> 18:48.876 align:start Well, I, I have to confess to you that I, 18:48.876 --> 18:50.292 align:start I stole a couple of the dates from, 18:50.292 --> 18:52.459 align:start I climbed up a ladder and I was glad I did because 18:52.459 --> 18:55.417 align:start that represents at least 25% of the dates I've 18:55.417 --> 18:57.250 align:start eaten in my life. 18:57.250 --> 18:58.083 align:start They were very good. 18:58.083 --> 19:00.667 align:start Didn't eat that many dates in your life, huh? 19:00.667 --> 19:01.709 align:start That's right. 19:01.709 --> 19:03.751 align:start I'm, I'm gonna eat more now. 19:03.751 --> 19:04.876 align:start They were great. 19:04.876 --> 19:06.626 align:start And what are the different types of dates. 19:06.626 --> 19:08.792 align:start You've told me about the medjools. 19:08.792 --> 19:09.999 align:start What other ones do you have? 19:09.999 --> 19:12.375 align:start Well, another good quality one is the deglet noor. 19:12.375 --> 19:13.999 align:start But there's many more. 19:13.999 --> 19:14.999 align:start Hidis, there's barhee dates. 19:14.999 --> 19:17.083 align:start The barhee is a unique one in that a lot of people 19:17.083 --> 19:18.999 align:start like to eat it in a kind of an unripe state. 19:18.999 --> 19:20.918 align:start But there's 60, 70, 80 varieties of dates. 19:20.918 --> 19:22.459 align:start There's a lot of dates throughout the world. 19:22.459 --> 19:24.542 align:start Why is it that dates don't seem to be real big and real 19:24.542 --> 19:26.375 align:start high on the Americans' list of favorite foods? 19:26.375 --> 19:29.375 align:start I think it's because we grew up not being familiar with them. 19:29.375 --> 19:32.417 align:start A lot of countries like, particularly the Middle 19:32.417 --> 19:34.584 align:start East cause that's where they originated from, 19:34.584 --> 19:37.334 align:start dates are a common everyday diet. 19:37.334 --> 19:38.999 align:start Here it hasn't been that way. 19:38.999 --> 19:42.999 align:start It was always, your Aunt Nellie's date nut bread or 19:42.999 --> 19:46.000 align:start something like that that you had dates in rather than. 19:46.000 --> 19:48.209 align:start And that you had to eat it whether you 19:48.209 --> 19:49.751 align:start wanted it or not. 19:49.751 --> 19:50.999 align:start Yeah, oh, yeah. 19:50.999 --> 19:53.042 align:start But when you, when you try these, the medjool date, 19:53.042 --> 19:54.999 align:start which is a very, like I said, 19:54.999 --> 19:56.999 align:start a very creamy premium date, 19:56.999 --> 19:58.999 align:start it tastes a lot different than a lot of the other 19:58.999 --> 20:00.999 align:start dates that we've been used to and a lot of people 20:00.999 --> 20:02.999 align:start that have not liked dates I've convinced to like em 20:02.999 --> 20:04.834 align:start just by trying that variety. 20:04.834 --> 20:06.334 align:start Yeah, Jim, it strikes me that we've got a natural 20:06.334 --> 20:09.751 align:start cycle here that the dates originated in the Middle East, 20:09.751 --> 20:10.999 align:start the plants came here, 20:10.999 --> 20:13.999 align:start the production is here and a lot of it goes back to 20:13.999 --> 20:18.042 align:start people who are Middle Eastern origin. 20:18.042 --> 20:19.167 align:start Is that correct? 20:19.167 --> 20:20.584 align:start Well, yes, a lot of the trees, 20:20.584 --> 20:23.834 align:start all the trees technically came from the Middle East 20:23.834 --> 20:24.999 align:start at one point or another. 20:24.999 --> 20:27.999 align:start The medjool is unique in that it came from Morocco, 20:27.999 --> 20:30.918 align:start part of the Middle East, it was wiped out by a 20:30.918 --> 20:33.834 align:start soil-born disease there, came here, 20:33.834 --> 20:35.501 align:start was quarantined and grown here, 20:35.501 --> 20:37.626 align:start now all the medjools originate from here. 20:37.626 --> 20:40.042 align:start Some have gone back to like Israel and some other 20:40.042 --> 20:42.626 align:start sections of the Middle East but now the big 20:42.626 --> 20:48.000 align:start medjool production is here in the U.S. 20:48.000 --> 20:50.542 align:start Commercial date palms require irrigation. 20:50.542 --> 20:53.876 align:start The native desert fan palms grow wild only where 20:53.876 --> 20:58.042 align:start water occurs naturally, in some cases courtesy 20:58.042 --> 21:01.501 align:start of geological faults. 21:01.501 --> 21:04.667 align:start We can generally classify palm oases into two types. 21:04.667 --> 21:08.375 align:start There are canyon oases, then there are fault line 21:08.375 --> 21:10.999 align:start oases, well, oases associated with the 21:10.999 --> 21:12.209 align:start San Andreas Fault. 21:12.209 --> 21:16.083 align:start Once we get into very deep alluvial soils whatever 21:16.083 --> 21:19.792 align:start water is running on the surface or even beneath 21:19.792 --> 21:22.999 align:start the surface sinks so far down that the palm roots 21:22.999 --> 21:24.292 align:start can't get it anymore. 21:24.292 --> 21:26.834 align:start Whenever you can see the palms you know that there 21:26.834 --> 21:29.584 align:start is water you can maybe dig to? 21:29.584 --> 21:29.999 align:start Dig to, yeah. 21:29.999 --> 21:32.125 align:start You know there's water at or near the surface, 21:32.125 --> 21:35.667 align:start probably so close that you could reach it with a shovel. 21:35.667 --> 21:37.584 align:start I'm looking out and looking north here across 21:37.584 --> 21:42.083 align:start the Coachella Valley and the Fault is where? 21:42.083 --> 21:45.459 align:start Well, we're, we're driving north along the Palm 21:45.459 --> 21:48.999 align:start Canyon Fault and 10 miles north from here the Palm 21:48.999 --> 21:52.459 align:start Canyon Fault runs smack into the San Andreas Fault. 21:52.459 --> 21:54.042 align:start So it's like a "T"? 21:54.042 --> 21:56.584 align:start Yes. 21:56.584 --> 22:01.250 align:start When we were up in the Palm Canyon we'd see palms 22:01.250 --> 22:05.918 align:start but they're down in the bottom of the canyon in water. 22:05.918 --> 22:06.167 align:start Right. 22:06.167 --> 22:09.125 align:start And here they're on this arid, arid hillside. 22:09.125 --> 22:10.083 align:start So what's going on? 22:10.083 --> 22:12.999 align:start Well, we're walking along the San Andreas Fault and 22:12.999 --> 22:15.792 align:start in this particular area how water reaches the 22:15.792 --> 22:18.999 align:start palms is a little bit different than where we were. 22:18.999 --> 22:21.083 align:start Where is the water coming from? 22:21.083 --> 22:23.999 align:start I mean, this is very dry country. 22:23.999 --> 22:25.834 align:start What happens is, to the north of us are some 22:25.834 --> 22:27.999 align:start mountains, the little San Bernardino Mountains in 22:27.999 --> 22:30.209 align:start Joshua Tree National Park and when it rains and 22:30.209 --> 22:33.667 align:start snows up there the water sinks into the soil and 22:33.667 --> 22:36.709 align:start runs underground to the lowest point in the area, 22:36.709 --> 22:38.999 align:start which is the bottom of the Coachella Valley. 22:38.999 --> 22:42.042 align:start But water never reaches there because as it comes 22:42.042 --> 22:44.999 align:start underground it hits the fault. 22:44.999 --> 22:45.918 align:start Boom. 22:45.918 --> 22:48.918 align:start And that Fault is moving back and grinding against 22:48.918 --> 22:51.918 align:start each other and it has ground up the soil so fine 22:51.918 --> 22:55.250 align:start that the water can't get through it. 22:55.250 --> 22:56.042 align:start It can't get by the Fault. 22:56.042 --> 22:58.626 align:start It can't get by the Fault and so it's dammed up 22:58.626 --> 23:00.999 align:start underground and eventually it rises to the surface, 23:00.999 --> 23:04.042 align:start which provides all the water the palms need. 23:04.042 --> 23:06.999 align:start So, we are now crossing the San Andreas Fault, 23:06.999 --> 23:08.334 align:start you guarantee me. 23:08.334 --> 23:08.876 align:start Right. 23:08.876 --> 23:10.876 align:start We're standing right now on the Pacific Plate and 23:10.876 --> 23:14.417 align:start now we're gonna jump across to the North American Plate. 23:14.417 --> 23:15.918 align:start And it's not dangerous? 23:15.918 --> 23:17.792 align:start Unless there's an earthquake. 23:17.792 --> 23:18.999 align:start All right. 23:18.999 --> 23:19.999 align:start On three. 23:19.999 --> 23:21.584 align:start One, two, three. 23:21.584 --> 23:23.584 align:start We made it. 23:23.584 --> 23:24.542 align:start Ahh. 23:24.542 --> 23:26.334 align:start And this is what underground blocks the flow 23:26.334 --> 23:29.999 align:start of water from the north to the south across the Fault. 23:29.999 --> 23:32.667 align:start It can't get through this when it's tightly packed together. 23:32.667 --> 23:35.334 align:start There are no spaces in between the soil particles 23:35.334 --> 23:37.334 align:start and so this is the dam. 23:37.334 --> 23:38.751 align:start So water's gotta go somewhere. 23:38.751 --> 23:40.709 align:start Yeah, it wants to go downhill but it can't 23:40.709 --> 23:42.792 align:start go any further than the Fault. 23:42.792 --> 23:47.667 align:start And so we have palms. 23:47.667 --> 23:50.959 align:start Fire sometimes is thought to be a hazard to palm oases 23:50.959 --> 23:51.999 align:start but it's not. 23:51.999 --> 23:53.999 align:start The palms thrive in a fire regime. 23:53.999 --> 23:56.125 align:start In fact in our studies we found that the more 23:56.125 --> 24:02.999 align:start frequent the fire the more rapidly palms colonize and area. 24:02.999 --> 24:05.876 align:start These are the fruits of the desert fan palm. 24:05.876 --> 24:08.542 align:start They're pretty tasty and I've collected quite a few 24:08.542 --> 24:11.876 align:start of them cause I thought you might want to try them. 24:11.876 --> 24:13.999 align:start They've been pasteurized. 24:13.999 --> 24:14.792 align:start Pasteurized. 24:14.792 --> 24:17.999 align:start Well, all right, I trust you so much, Jim. 24:17.999 --> 24:19.792 align:start Okay. 24:19.792 --> 24:21.042 align:start Oh, hard seed. 24:21.042 --> 24:22.626 align:start Yeah, don't bite. 24:22.626 --> 24:23.999 align:start I forgot to tell you that. 24:23.999 --> 24:24.999 align:start Thanks. 24:24.999 --> 24:26.709 align:start Don't bite into the seed. 24:26.709 --> 24:27.999 align:start Tastes like a micro-date. 24:27.999 --> 24:30.125 align:start However, I will confess, they are sweet. 24:30.125 --> 24:31.250 align:start You're probably right. 24:31.250 --> 24:34.417 align:start They've quite good. 24:34.417 --> 24:36.375 align:start It's easy to be pessimistic about the 24:36.375 --> 24:39.042 align:start future of many of the world's deserts and the 24:39.042 --> 24:40.999 align:start plants and animals that live there. 24:40.999 --> 24:44.918 align:start But the reverse is the case with the desert fan palm. 24:44.918 --> 24:47.584 align:start It's populations are healthy, it's numbers are 24:47.584 --> 24:51.999 align:start increasing and it's distribution is expanding. 24:51.999 --> 24:54.999 align:start And while global climate change is placing stress 24:54.999 --> 25:01.999 align:start on many organisms, the desert fan palm is happy. 25:02.167 --> 25:04.792 align:start For thousands of years the desert in the shadows 25:04.792 --> 25:08.292 align:start of the towering Andes of northwestern Peru has been 25:08.292 --> 25:13.042 align:start a strategic crossroads for imperial trade. 25:13.042 --> 25:15.834 align:start Advanced pre-Incan cultures left behind 25:15.834 --> 25:18.918 align:start hand-carved mountaintop canals. 25:18.918 --> 25:20.209 align:start Well, almost 10,000 years. 25:20.209 --> 25:21.999 align:start In fact, there are caves. 25:21.999 --> 25:23.501 align:start Ancient burial sites and 25:23.501 --> 25:28.209 align:start monuments now overwhelmed by encroaching cities. 25:28.209 --> 25:29.626 align:start El Cuarto del Rescate. 25:29.626 --> 25:32.167 align:start Next time onThe Desert Speaks 25:32.999 --> 25:35.501 align:start One of the interesting things about the spines is 25:35.501 --> 25:38.792 align:start that we found that if you examine the leaf stems of 25:38.792 --> 25:43.000 align:start a palm that's 26 feet in height there are no spines. 25:43.000 --> 25:44.542 align:start They're completely gone. 25:44.542 --> 25:46.667 align:start And. They don't need em up there? 25:46.667 --> 25:47.834 align:start They don't need em up there. 25:47.834 --> 25:49.709 align:start We wondered why they stopped producing them at 25:49.709 --> 25:52.667 align:start that height and what we found out was that the 25:52.667 --> 25:54.751 align:start highest that the Emperial mammoth could reach with 25:54.751 --> 26:01.334 align:start its trunk when it was on its tippy toes was 24 feet. 26:02.250 --> 26:04.250 align:start Funding for The Desert Speaks 26:04.250 --> 26:06.626 align:start was provided by Desert Program Partners, 26:06.626 --> 26:09.959 align:start representing concerned viewers making a financial commitment 26:09.959 --> 26:13.999 align:start to the education about and preservation of deserts. 26:13.999 --> 26:19.584 align:start And by the Stonewall Foundation. 26:20.667 --> 26:25.542 align:start Copies of the Desert Speaks are available from KUAT. 26:25.542 --> 26:29.375 align:start To order, call 1-800-841-5923 26:29.375 --> 26:34.501 align:start and please be sure to mention the episode number. 26:34.501 --> 26:42.000 align:start For more information visitThe Desert Speaks on-line at this address.