Doum << doom >> palm, also spelled doom palm, grows in Arabia, Upper Egypt, and Central Africa. Each branch of the doum palm ends in a tuft of deeply lobed, fan-shaped leaves. The tree bears an irregularly oval fruit about the size of an apple. The fruit has a red outer skin and a thick, spongy, and rather sweet inner substance that tastes like gingerbread. For this reason, the doum palm has often been called the gingerbread tree. Large quantities of these fruits have been found in the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs. The seeds are a source of vegetable ivory, which resembles the ivory of elephant tusks.
