Synonyms: Zahdi, Zadie, Zaydi, Zehedi, Zaheedy
Origin: Iraq
Meaning: Uncertain, perhaps of a small quantity (Dowson 1939), or nobility (Poponoe 1913)
History: David Fairchild introduced Zahidi, a semi-dry date, in 1902 from northern Iraq.   As with other varieties from that region, though, most of the commercial plantings of Zahidi in the United States are traceable to Paul Poponoe’s 1913 introduction. By 1946, there were 183 acres of Zahidi in California (Byrd, Blair, and Phillips 1947); all but 30 acres were in the Coachella Valley, with an estimated 25 acres in Arizona, nearly all in the Salt River Valley. Zahidi is the most common date variety in Northern Iraq and is more widely distributed than any other variety in that country.  Some Iraqis believe that Zahidi and Kustawy were the original varieties from which all others derived.