Pomegranate

Appearance

The Punica granatum leaves are opposite or sub-opposite, glossy, narrow oblong, entire, 3–7 cm long and 2 cm broad. The flowers are bright red, 3 cm in diameter, with four to five petals (often more on cultivated plants). Some fruitless varieties are grown for the flowers alone. The edible fruit is a berry and is between a lemon and a grapefruit in size, 5–12 cm in diameter with a rounded hexagonal shape, and has thick reddish skin. The exact number of seeds in a pomegranate can vary from 200 to about 1400 seeds, contrary to some beliefs that all pomegranates have exactly the same number of seeds. Each seed has a surrounding water-laden pulp—the edible sarcotesta that forms from the seed coat—ranging in color from white to deep red or purple. The seeds are embedded in a white, spongy, astringent membrane.

Naming

The name pomegranate derives from medieval Latin pōmum "apple" and grānātum "seeded". This has influenced the common name for pomegranate in many languages (e.g. granada in Spanish, Granatapfel or Grenadine in German, grenade in French, granatäpple in Swedish, pomogranà in Venetian). Mālum grānātus, using the classical Latin word for apple, gives rise to the Italian name melograno, or less commonly melagrana.

Perhaps stemming from the old French word for the fruit, pomme-grenade, the pomegranate was known in early English as "apple of Grenada"—a term which today survives only in heraldic blazons. This is a folk etymology, confusing Latin granatus with the name of the Spanish city of Granada, which derives from Arabic.

The genus name Punica refers to the Phoenicians, who were active in broadening its cultivation, partly for religious reasons.

Garnet comes from Old French grenat by metathesis, from Medieval Latin granatum, here used in a different meaning: "of a dark red color". This meaning perhaps originated from pomum granatum because of the color of pomegranate pulp, or from granum in the sense of "red dye, cochineal".

The French term grenade for pomegranate has given its name to the military grenade. Soldiers commented on the similar shape of early grenades and the name entered common usage.

While most European languages have cognate names for the fruit, stemming from Latin granatum, exceptions are the Armenian term nur, Albanian term shega, Bulgarian nar and the Portuguese term romã which is derived from Arabic ruman, and has cognates in other Semitic languages (e.g. Hebrew rimmon) and Ancient Egyptian rmn.

Distribution

The pomegranate is widely considered to have originated in Iran and has been cultivated since ancient times. Today, it is widely cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, the Middle East and Caucasus region, northern Africa and tropical Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and the drier parts of southeast Asia. Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is also cultivated in parts of California and Arizona.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February. In the Southern Hemisphere, the pomegranate is in season from March to May.

Uses

Pomegranates are used in cooking, baking, juices, smoothies and alcoholic beverages, such as martinis and wine.

In the Indian subcontinent's ancient Ayurveda system of medicine, the pomegranate has extensively been used as a source of traditional remedies.

The rind of the fruit and the bark of the pomegranate tree is used as a traditional remedy against diarrhea, dysentery and intestinal parasites. The seeds and juice are considered a tonic for the heart and throat, and classified as having bitter-astringent taste plus a range of taste from sweet to sour, depending on ripeneness. Thus Pomegranate is considered a healthful counterbalance to a diet high in sweet-fatty (kapha or earth) components.

Especially when sweet, pomegranate fruit is nourishing for (pitta or fire) systems and is known as a blood builder. The astringent qualities of the flower juice, rind and tree bark are considered valuable for a variety of purposes, such as stopping nose bleeds and gum bleeds, toning skin, (after blending with mustard oil) firming-up sagging breasts, and treating hemorrhoids. Pomegranate juice (of specific fruit strains) is also used as an eyedrop, as it is believed to slow the development of cataracts.

Ayurveda differentiates between pomegranate varieties and employs them for different remedies.

Pomegranate has been used as a contraceptive and abortifacient by means of consuming the seeds, or rind, as well as by using the rind as a vaginal suppository. This practice is recorded in ancient Indian literature, in medieval sources, and in modern folk medicine.

Cultural

The pomegranate has been mentioned in many ancient texts, notably in Babylonian texts, the Book of Exodus, the Homeric Hymns and the Quran. In recent years, it has become more common in the commercial markets of North America and the Western Hemisphere.

Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptians regarded the pomegranate as a symbol of prosperity and ambition. According to the Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest medical writings from around 1500 BC, Egyptians used the pomegranate for treatment of tapeworm and other infections.

Ancient Greece
Although the pomegranate was mentioned in the Ancient Greek history prior to the founding of Ancient Rome, the Greeks were familiar with the fruit far before it was introduced to Ancient Rome via Carthage. In the Ancient Greek mythology, the pomegranate was also known as the "fruit of the dead," and to have sprung from the blood of Adonis.

Judaism
Pomegranates were known in Ancient Israel as the fruits which the scouts brought to Moses to demonstrate the fertility of the "promised land". The Book of Exodus describes the me'il ("robe of the ephod") worn by the Hebrew High Priest as having pomegranates embroidered on the hem. According to the Books of Kings the capitals of the two pillars (Jachin and Boaz) that stood in front of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem were engraved with pomegranates. It is said that Solomon designed his coronet based on the pomegranate's "crown" (calyx).

Christianity
In the earliest incontrovertible appearance of Christ in a mosaic, a fourth-century floor mosaic from Hinton St Mary, Dorset, now in the British Museum, the bust of Christ and the chi rho are flanked by pomegranates. Pomegranates continue to be a motif often found in Christian religious decoration. They are often woven into the fabric of vestments and liturgical hangings or wrought in metalwork. Pomegranates figure in many religious paintings by the likes of Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci, often in the hands of the Virgin Mary or the infant Jesus. The fruit, broken or bursting open, is a symbol of the fullness of Jesus' suffering and resurrection.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, pomegranate seeds may be used in kolyva, a dish prepared for memorial services, as a symbol of the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom.

Islam
According to the Qur'an, pomegranates grow in the gardens of paradise. The Qur'an also mentions pomegranates three times as examples of good things God creates.