Interesting Facts About the Powerful Pomegranate

The Tree:

First, "pomegranate" refers to the spiny, deciduous shrub or tree that is cultivated for its fruit (the fruit is probably what you usually think of as a pomegranate).

The tree has bright green, glossy, leathery, short-stemmed, oblong leaves that are anywhere from 3 to 7 centimeters long and about 2 centimeters broad. The leaves are opposite, or sub-opposite, or in whorls of 5 or 6.

The flowers of the tree are called Balaustines and are bright red or orange with 3-7 petals. The flowers are approximately 3 centimeters in diameter. They grow on the tips of the branches singly or in clusters of up to 5. They have a thick, tubular, red calyx with 5-8 pointed sepals from which the petals emerge. The petals enclose numerous stamen.

The Fruit:

Secondly, the word "pomegranate" refers to the fruit, which is actually a berry.

The word "pomegranate" is from the Latin "pomum granatum" which means "apple of many seeds." That gives a pretty good description!

Except for the crown-like structure at the top (or is it the bottom??) of the pomegranate, called the calyx, the pomegranate looks similar to an apple on the outside - it's about the same size, or slightly larger, it's relatively round (actually somewhat hexagonal) and its thick leathery skin is reddish (sometimes there's also yellow, pink, orange or green). The outer peel, or skin, of a pomegranate is called the rind.

Inside there are many seeds encased in a juicy sac, called arils. These arils are set in membranous compartments (called membrane) and surrounded by white, fleshy pith, called albedo.

Pomegranates are one of the oldest fruits.

The pomegranate is native to Persia (now Iran).

It was cultivated in Egypt around the time of Moses and existed very early in India.

The pomegranate was brought to China around 100 BCE.

The Romans called the pomegranate a Punic apple because it arrived in Italy by way of Carthage (Punic). Its Latin name is Punica granatum (Carthage seeds).

The Moors brought pomegranates to Spain around 800 CE and the city of Granada was named for the pomegranate.

Spanish settlers brought the pomegranate to the U.S. in 1769 according to some sources.

It's now widely grown in the U.S., Malaysia, Southern Europe, Egypt, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, India, Burma, Saudi Arabia and Israel.