More significant than its name implies, the pygmy date palm tree (Phoenix roebelenii) is a member of the family Arecaceae, a huge group with over 2,600 species found in tropical and subtropical climates of the world. Pygmy palm growing is used in a variety of interiorscapes and commercial plantings due to its graceful form and height of 6 to 10 feet. Pygmy date palm information allows that this particular genus is known as a date palm due to its often sweet, sugary fruit pulp found in some species of Arecaceae. Its genus, Phoenix, encompasses only a small portion of the Arecaceae family counted at about 17 species. Pygmy date palm trees have small, yellow hued flowers, which give way to tiny purplish dates born on a thin solitary trunk with deep green fronds forming a crown. Insignificant thorns also grow on the leaf stalks.