Pomegranate--superfruits
<h1 class="firstHeading">Pomegranate</h1><div id="bodyContent"><h3 id="siteSub"></h3><table class="infobox biota" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 2px; PADDING-LEFT: 2px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 2px; WIDTH: 200px; PADDING-TOP: 2px; TEXT-ALIGN: center;"><tbody><tr style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;"><th style="BACKGROUND: lightgreen 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">Pomegranate</th></tr><tr style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;"><td><a class="image" title="Fruit of pomegranate" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pomegranate_fruit.jpg"><img height="169" alt="Fruit of pomegranate" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Pomegranate_fruit.jpg/200px-Pomegranate_fruit.jpg" width="200" border="0"/></a><br/><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;"><small>Fruit of pomegranate</small></div></td></tr><tr style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;"><th style="BACKGROUND: lightgreen 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><a title="Scientific classification" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_classification">Scientific classification</a></th></tr><tr style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;"><td><table cellpadding="2" style="BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; MARGIN: 0pt auto; TEXT-ALIGN: left; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td>Kingdom:</td><td><span class="kingdom"><a title="Plant" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant">Plantae</a></span><br/></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Division:</td><td><a title="Flowering plant" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowering_plant">Magnoliophyta</a><br/></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Class:</td><td><span class="taxoclass"><a title="Magnoliopsida" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnoliopsida">Magnoliopsida</a></span><br/></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Subclass:</td><td><span class="subclass"><a title="Rosidae" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosidae">Rosidae</a></span><br/></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Order:</td><td><span class="order"><a title="Myrtales" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrtales">Myrtales</a></span><br/></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Family:</td><td><span class="family"><a title="Lythraceae" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lythraceae">Lythraceae</a></span><br/></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Genus:</td><td><span class="genus"><i><a title="Punica" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punica">Punica</a></i></span><br/></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Species:</td><td><span style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap;"><i><b>P. granatum</b></i></span><br/></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr style="BACKGROUND: lightgreen 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><th><a title="Binomial nomenclature" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binomial_nomenclature">Binomial name</a></th></tr><tr style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;"><td><b><span class="binomial">Punica granatum</span></b><br/><small><a title="Carolus Linnaeus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolus_Linnaeus">L.</a></small></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The <b>Pomegranate</b> (<i>Punica granatum</i>) is a <a title="Fruit" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit">fruit</a>-bearing <a title="Deciduous" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deciduous">deciduous</a>
<a title="Shrub" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrub">shrub</a> or small <a title="Tree" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree">tree</a> growing to 5–8 m tall. The pomegranate is native to the region from <a title="Afghanistan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> and <a title="Iran" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran">Iran</a> to the <a title="Himalayas" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayas">Himalayas</a> in northern <a title="India" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India">India</a> and has been cultivated and naturalized over the whole <a title="Mediterranean Basin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Basin">Mediterranean</a> region and the <a title="Caucasus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus">Caucasus</a> since ancient times. It is widely cultivated throughout Armenia, Iran, India, the drier parts of <a title="Southeast Asia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia">southeast Asia</a>, <a title="Peninsular Malaysia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsular_Malaysia">Malaya</a>, the <a title="Indies" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indies">East Indies</a>, and <a title="Tropics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropics">tropical</a>
<a title="Africa" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa">Africa</a>. Introduced into <a title="Latin America" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_America">Latin America</a> and <a title="California" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California">California</a> by <a title="New Spain" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Spain">Spanish</a> settlers in 1769, pomegranate is now cultivated mainly in the drier parts of California and <a title="Arizona" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona">Arizona</a> for its fruits exploited commercially as juice products gaining in popularity since 2001 <a class="external autonumber" title="http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=66783-datamonitor-flavours-antioxidant" href="http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=66783-datamonitor-flavours-antioxidant" rel="nofollow">[10]</a>
<a class="external autonumber" title="http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=65205-ccd-exotic-fruits-white-tea" href="http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=65205-ccd-exotic-fruits-white-tea" rel="nofollow">[11]</a>. In the global <a title="Functional food" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_food">functional food</a> industry, pomegranate is often mentioned among a novel category of exotic plant sources called "<a title="Superfruit" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfruit">superfruits</a>" <a class="external autonumber" title="http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/newsATemp.aspx?articleid=17826&zoneid=201" href="http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/newsATemp.aspx?articleid=17826&zoneid=201" rel="nofollow">[12]</a>.</p><table class="toc" id="toc" summary="Contents"><tbody><tr><td><div id="toctitle"><h2><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#External_links"><span class="toctext"></span></a></h2></div></td></tr></tbody></table><script type="text/javascript"></script><p><a id="Foliage_and_fruit" name="Foliage_and_fruit"></a></p><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Foliage and fruit</span></h2><div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="WIDTH: 122px;"><a class="image" title="Illustration by Otto Wilhelm Thomé, 1885" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Illustration_Punica_granatum2.jpg"><img class="thumbimage" height="192" alt="Illustration by Otto Wilhelm Thomé, 1885" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Illustration_Punica_granatum2.jpg/120px-Illustration_Punica_granatum2.jpg" width="120" border="0"/></a>
<div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify" style="FLOAT: right;"><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Illustration_Punica_granatum2.jpg"><img height="11" alt="" src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15"/></a></div>Illustration by <a title="Otto Wilhelm Thomé" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Wilhelm_Thom%C3%A9">Otto Wilhelm Thomé</a>, 1885</div></div></div><div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="WIDTH: 142px;"><a class="image" title="Pomegranate flowers and leaves" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pomegranate_flowers.JPG"><img class="thumbimage" height="107" alt="Pomegranate flowers and leaves" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Pomegranate_flowers.JPG/140px-Pomegranate_flowers.JPG" width="140" border="0"/></a>
<div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify" style="FLOAT: right;"><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pomegranate_flowers.JPG"><img height="11" alt="" src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15"/></a></div>Pomegranate flowers and leaves</div></div></div><p>The <a title="Leaf" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf">leaves</a> are opposite or sub-opposite, glossy, narrow oblong, entire, 3–7 cm long and 2 cm broad. The <a title="Flower" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower">flowers</a> are bright red, 3 cm in diameter, with four to five petals (often more on cultivated plants). The <a title="Fruit" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit">fruit</a> is between a <a title="Lemon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon">lemon</a> and a <a title="Grapefruit" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit">grapefruit</a> in size, 5–12 cm in diameter with a rounded hexagonal shape, and has thick reddish skin and around 600 <a title="Seed" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed">seeds</a>.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-0"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-0">[1]</a></sup> The seeds and surrounding pulp, ranging in colour from white to deep red, called <a title="Aril" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aril">arils</a>, are edible; indeed, the fruit of the pomegranate is a <a title="Berry" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berry">berry</a>. There are some <a title="Cultivar" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivar">cultivars</a> which have been introduced that have a range of pulp colours such as purple.</p><p><i>Punica granatum nana</i> is a dwarf variety of <i>P. granatum</i> popularly used as <a title="Bonsai" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai">Bonsai</a> trees and as a patio plant. The only other species in the genus <i><a title="Punica" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punica">Punica</a></i> is the Socotran pomegranate (<i>Punica protopunica</i>), which is <a title="Endemic (ecology)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemic_%28ecology%29">endemic</a> to the island of <a title="Socotra" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socotra">Socotra</a>. It differs in having pink (not red) flowers and smaller, less sweet fruit. Pomegranates are <a title="Drought" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drought">drought</a> tolerant, and can be grown in dry areas with either a Mediterranean winter rainfall climate or in summer rainfall climates. In wetter areas, they are prone to root decay from <a title="Fungus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus">fungal</a> diseases. They are tolerant of moderate <a title="Frost" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frost">frost</a>, down to about −10<a title="Celsius" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celsius">°C</a> (14<a title="Fahrenheit" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit">°F</a>).</p><p><a id="Etymology" name="Etymology"></a></p><h2><span class="mw-headline">Etymology</span></h2><table style="CLEAR: right; BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; FONT-SIZE: smaller; BACKGROUND: white 0% 50%; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0.5em 1em; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; COLOR: black; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><tbody><tr><th align="center" colspan="2"><b>Pomegranate, aril only<br/>Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)</b></th></tr><tr style="BACKGROUND: rgb(224,224,224) 0% 50%; COLOR: black; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><td align="center">Energy 70 kcal 290 kJ</td></tr><tr><td><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="MARGIN: 0.3em;"><tbody><tr><th align="left"><a title="Carbohydrate" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate">Carbohydrates</a> </th><td>17.17 g</td></tr><tr><td>- Sugars 16.57 g</td></tr><tr><td>- <a title="Dietary fiber" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_fiber">Dietary fiber</a> 0.6 g </td></tr><tr><th align="left"><a title="Fatty acid" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatty_acid">Fat</a></th><td>0.3 g</td></tr><tr><th align="left"><a title="Protein" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein#Nutrition">Protein</a></th><td>0.95 g</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Thiamin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiamin">Thiamin (Vit. B1)</a> 0.030 mg </td><td>2%</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Riboflavin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riboflavin">Riboflavin (Vit. B2)</a> 0.063 mg </td><td>4%</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Niacin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niacin">Niacin (Vit. B3)</a> 0.300 mg </td><td>2%</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Pantothenic acid" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantothenic_acid">Pantothenic acid</a> (B5) 0.596 mg </td><td>12%</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Vitamin B6" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B6">Vitamin B6</a> 0.105 mg</td><td>8%</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Folate" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folate">Folate</a> (Vit. B9) 6 μg </td><td>2%</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Vitamin C" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C">Vitamin C</a> 6.1 mg</td><td>10%</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Calcium" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium#Nutrition">Calcium</a> 3 mg</td><td>0%</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Iron" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron#Nutrition_and_dietary_sources">Iron</a> 0.30 mg</td><td>2%</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Magnesium in biological systems" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_in_biological_systems">Magnesium</a> 3 mg</td><td>1% </td></tr><tr><td><a title="Phosphorus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus#Biological_role">Phosphorus</a> 8 mg</td><td>1%</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Potassium" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium#Potassium_in_diet">Potassium</a> 259 mg </td><td>6%</td></tr><tr><td><a title="Zinc" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc">Zinc</a> 0.12 mg</td><td>1%</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr style="BACKGROUND: rgb(224,224,224) 0% 50%; COLOR: black; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><td align="center"><small>Percentages are relative to US<br/><a title="Reference Daily Intake" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_Daily_Intake">recommendations</a> for adults.<br/><small>Source: <a class="external text" title="http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/" href="http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/" rel="nofollow">USDA Nutrient database</a></small></small></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The name "pomegranate" derives from <a title="Latin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin">Latin</a>
<i>pomum</i> ("apple") and <i>granatus</i> ("seeded"). This has influenced the common name for pomegranate in many languages (e.g. <a title="German language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language">German</a>
<i>Granatapfel</i>, seeded apple). The genus name <i>Punica</i> is named for the <a title="Phoenicians" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenicians">Phoenicians</a>, who were active in broadening its cultivation, partly for religious reasons. In classical Latin, where "malum" was broadly applied to many apple-like fruits, the pomegranate's name was <i>malum punicum</i> or <i>malum granatum</i>, the latter giving rise to the <a title="Italian language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language">Italian</a> name <i>melograno</i>, or less commonly <i>melagrana</i>.</p><p>A separate, widespread root for "pomegranate" comes from the Ancient <a title="Egyptian language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_language">Egyptian</a>
<i>rmn</i>, from which derive the <a title="Hebrew language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_language">Hebrew</a>
<i>rimmôn</i>, and <a title="Arabic language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language">Arabic</a>
<i>rummân</i>. This root was given by Arabs to other languages, including <a title="Portuguese language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_language">Portuguese</a> (<i>romã</i>)<sup class="reference" id="_ref-1"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-1">[2]</a></sup>, <a title="Kabyle language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabyle_language">Kabyle</a>
<i>rrumman</i> and <a title="Maltese language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_language">Maltese</a> "rumen". The pomegranate ('rimmôn') is mentioned in the bible as one of the seven fruits/plants that Israel was blessed with, and in Hebrew, 'rimmôn' is also the name of the weapon now called the grenade. According to the <i><a title="Oxford English Dictionary" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary">OED</a></i>, the word <a title="Grenade" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenade">grenade</a> originated about 1532 from the French name for the pomegranate, <i>la grenade</i>. <i>La grenade</i> also gives us the word <a title="Grenadine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenadine">grenadine</a>, the name of a kind of fruit <a title="Syrup" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrup">syrup</a>, originally made from pomegranates, which is widely used as a <a title="Cordial" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordial">cordial</a> and in <a title="Cocktails" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocktails">cocktails</a>.</p><p>In Russia the fruit is called Granat, thought to have influenced the word Granata meaning Grenade. The shape of the fruit and its contents of many small objects (seeds) makes it look like a grenade.</p><p>Even though this fruit does not originate from <a title="China" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China">China</a>, one common nickname is "Chinese apple."</p><p><a id="Cultivation_and_uses" name="Cultivation_and_uses"></a></p><h2><span class="mw-headline">Cultivation and uses</span></h2><div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="WIDTH: 182px;"><a class="image" title="Pomegranate leaves" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Punica.granatum%2804%29.jpg"><img class="thumbimage" height="135" alt="Pomegranate leaves" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Punica.granatum%2804%29.jpg/180px-Punica.granatum%2804%29.jpg" width="180" border="0"/></a>
<div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify" style="FLOAT: right;"><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Punica.granatum%2804%29.jpg"><img height="11" alt="" src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15"/></a></div>Pomegranate leaves</div></div></div><div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="WIDTH: 182px;"><a class="image" title="Pomegranate tree" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Punica.granatum%2801%29.jpg"><img class="thumbimage" height="240" alt="Pomegranate tree" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Punica.granatum%2801%29.jpg/180px-Punica.granatum%2801%29.jpg" width="180" border="0"/></a>
<div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify" style="FLOAT: right;"><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Punica.granatum%2801%29.jpg"><img height="11" alt="" src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15"/></a></div>Pomegranate tree</div></div></div><p>The pomegranate originated from <a title="Persia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persia">Persia</a> (<a title="Iran" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran">Iran</a>) and has been cultivated in <a title="Georgia (country)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_%28country%29">Georgia</a>, <a title="Armenia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia">Armenia</a> and the <a title="Mediterranean Basin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Basin">Mediterranean region</a> for several millennia.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-2"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-2">[3]</a></sup></p><p>In Georgia, and Armenia to the east of the <a title="Black Sea" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea">Black Sea</a>, there are wild pomegranate groves outside of ancient abandoned settlements. The cultivation of the pomegranate has a long history in Armenia; decayed remains of pomegranates dating back to 1000 BCE have been found in the country.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-3"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-3">[4]</a></sup></p><p>Carbonized <a title="Exocarp" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exocarp">exocarp</a> of the fruit has been identified in <a title="Early Bronze Age" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Bronze_Age">Early Bronze Age</a> levels of <a title="Jericho" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho">Jericho</a>, as well as <a title="Late Bronze Age" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Bronze_Age">Late Bronze Age</a> levels of <a title="Hala Sultan Tekke" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hala_Sultan_Tekke">Hala Sultan Tekke</a> on <a title="Cyprus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprus">Cyprus</a> and <a title="Tiryns" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiryns">Tiryns</a><sup class="noprint Template-Fact"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources since May 2007" style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap;">[<i><a title="Wikipedia:Citing sources" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources">citation needed</a></i>]</span></sup>. A large, dry pomegranate was found in the tomb of <a title="Djehuty" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djehuty">Djehuty</a>, the butler of Queen <a title="Hatshepsut" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatshepsut">Hatshepsut</a>; <a title="Mesopotamian" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamian">Mesopotamian</a>
<a title="Cuneiform" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform">cuneiform</a> records mention pomegranates from the mid-<a title="Third millennium BCE" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_millennium_BCE">Third millennium BCE</a> onwards.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-4"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-4">[5]</a></sup> It is also extensively grown in <a title="Northern and southern China" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_and_southern_China">South China</a> and in <a title="Southeast Asia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia">Southeast Asia</a>, whether originally spread along the route of the <a title="Silk Road" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road">Silk Road</a> or brought by sea traders.</p><p>The ancient city of <a title="Granada" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granada">Granada</a> in <a title="Spain" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain">Spain</a> was renamed after the fruit during the <a title="Al-Andalus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Andalus">Moorish</a> period. Spanish colonists later introduced the fruit to the <a title="Caribbean" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean">Caribbean</a> and <a title="Latin America" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_America">Latin America</a>, but in the <a title="British America" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_America">English colonies</a> it was less at home: "Don't use the pomegranate inhospitably, a stranger that has come so far to pay his respects to thee" the English <a title="Society of Friends" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Friends">Quaker</a>
<a title="Peter Collinson" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Collinson">Peter Collinson</a> wrote to the botanizing <a title="John Bartram" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bartram">John Bartram</a> in <a title="Philadelphia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, 1762. "Plant it against the side of thy house, nail it close to the wall. In this manner it thrives wonderfully with us, and flowers beautifully, and bears fruit this hot year. I have twenty-four on one tree... <a title="John Fothergill (physician)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fothergill_%28physician%29">Doctor Fothergill</a> says, of all trees this is most <a class="extiw" title="wikt:salutiferous" href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/salutiferous">salutiferous</a> to mankind."<sup class="reference" id="_ref-5"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-5">[6]</a></sup> The pomegranate had been introduced as an exotic to England the previous century, by <a title="John Tradescant the elder" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tradescant_the_elder">John Tradescant the elder</a>, but the disappointment that it did not set fruit there led to its repeated introduction to the American colonies, even New England. It succeeded in the South: Bartram received a barrel of pomegranates and oranges from a correspondent in <a title="Charleston, South Carolina" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston%2C_South_Carolina">Charleston, South Carolina</a>, 1764. <a title="Thomas Jefferson" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson">Thomas Jefferson</a> planted pomegranates at <a title="Monticello" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monticello">Monticello</a> in 1771: he had them from <a title="George Wythe" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Wythe">George Wythe</a> of <a title="Williamsburg, Virginia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburg%2C_Virginia">Williamsburg</a>.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-6"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-6">[7]</a></sup></p><p><a id="Culinary_use" name="Culinary_use"></a></p><h3><span class="mw-headline">Culinary use</span></h3><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="WIDTH: 252px;"><a class="image" title="Pomegranate fruit, opened" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pomegranate03_edit.jpg"><img class="thumbimage" height="188" alt="Pomegranate fruit, opened" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Pomegranate03_edit.jpg/250px-Pomegranate03_edit.jpg" width="250" border="0"/></a>
<div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify" style="FLOAT: right;"><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pomegranate03_edit.jpg"><img height="11" alt="" src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15"/></a></div>Pomegranate fruit, opened</div></div></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="WIDTH: 252px;"><a class="image" title="Pomegranate arils" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pomseeds2.jpg"><img class="thumbimage" height="245" alt="Pomegranate arils" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Pomseeds2.jpg/250px-Pomseeds2.jpg" width="250" border="0"/></a>
<div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify" style="FLOAT: right;"><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pomseeds2.jpg"><img height="11" alt="" src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15"/></a></div>Pomegranate arils</div></div></div><p>After opening the pomegranate by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, the <a title="Aril" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aril">arils</a> (seed casings) are separated from the skin (peel) and internal white supporting structures (pith and carpellary membrane). Separating the red arils can be simplified by performing this task in a bowl of water, whereby the arils will sink and the white structures will float to the top. The entire seed is consumed raw, though the fleshy outer portion of the seed is the part that is desired. The taste differs depending on the variety of pomegranate and its state of ripeness. It can be very <a title="Basic taste" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_taste#sweetness">sweet</a> or it can be very <a title="Basic taste" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_taste#Sourness">sour</a> or <a title="Tangy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangy">tangy</a>, but most fruits lie somewhere in between, which is the characteristic taste, laced with notes of its <a title="Tannin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannin">tannin</a>.</p><div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="WIDTH: 222px;"><a class="image" title="A bowl of ash-e anar, a Persian soup made with pomegranate juice" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Asheanar.jpg"><img class="thumbimage" height="165" alt="A bowl of ash-e anar, a Persian soup made with pomegranate juice" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5c/Asheanar.jpg/220px-Asheanar.jpg" width="220" border="0"/></a>
<div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify" style="FLOAT: right;"><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Asheanar.jpg"><img height="11" alt="" src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15"/></a></div>A bowl of <i>ash-e anar</i>, a Persian soup made with pomegranate juice</div></div></div><p><a title="Pomegranate juice" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate_juice">Pomegranate juice</a> is a popular drink in the <a title="Middle East" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East">Middle East</a>, and is also used in <a title="Iranian cuisine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_cuisine">Iranian</a> and <a title="Indian cuisine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_cuisine">Indian cuisine</a>; it began to be widely marketed in the United States in 2002 <a class="external autonumber" title="http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1118248441.html?dids=1118248441:1118248441&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Sep+1%2C+2006&author=Jane+Porter&pub=The+Sun&desc=POMEGRANATES+GAIN+THE+SPOTLIGHT+" href="http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1118248441.html?dids=1118248441:1118248441&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Sep+1%2C+2006&author=Jane+Porter&pub=The+Sun&desc=POMEGRANATES+GAIN+THE+SPOTLIGHT+" rel="nofollow">[13]</a>. Pomegranate concentrate is used in <a title="Syria" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria">Syrian</a> cuisine. <a title="Grenadine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenadine">Grenadine</a> syrup is thickened and sweetened pomegranate juice; it is used in <a title="Cocktail" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocktail">cocktail</a> mixing. Before the tomato arrived in the Middle East, grenadine was widely used in many Persian foods; it can still be found in traditional recipes such as <i><a title="Fesenjan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fesenjan">fesenjan</a></i> (a thick sauce made from pomegranate juice and ground walnuts, usually spooned over <a title="Duck (food)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_%28food%29">duck</a> or other <a title="Poultry" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poultry">poultry</a> and rice) and <i><a title="Ash-e anar" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash-e_anar">ash-e anar</a></i> (pomegranate soup) <a class="external autonumber" title="http://www.internetserver.com/isc/cookbook/asheanar2.html" href="http://www.internetserver.com/isc/cookbook/asheanar2.html" rel="nofollow">[14]</a>.</p><p>Wild pomegranate seeds are sometimes used as a spice, known as <b>anardana</b> (which literally means pomegranate (<a title="Anar" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anar">anar</a>) seeds (dana) in <a title="Persian language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_language">Persian</a>), most notably in Indian and <a title="Pakistan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan">Pakistani</a> cuisine but also as a replacement for pomegranate syrup in Persian and Middle Eastern cuisine. As a result of this, the dried whole seeds can often be obtained in ethnic markets. The seeds are separated from the flesh, dried for 10–15 days and used as an acidic agent for <a title="Chutney" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chutney">chutney</a> and <a title="Curry" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry">curry</a> production. The seeds may also be ground in order to avoid seeds becoming stuck in the teeth when eating dishes prepared with them. The seeds of the wild pomegranate <i>daru</i> from the <a title="Himalayas" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayas">Himalayas</a> is considered the highest quality source for this spice.</p><p>In <a title="Armenia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia">Armenia</a> and the <a title="Caucasus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus">Caucasus</a>, pomegranate (<a title="Armenian language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_language">Armenian</a>: <i>nur</i>) is used in a variety of ways, notably as pomegranate juice. <sup class="reference" id="_ref-7"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-7">[8]</a></sup> In <a title="Turkey" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey">Turkey</a> pomegranate sauce, (<a title="Turkish language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_language">Turkish</a>: <i>nar ekşisi</i>) is used as a salad dressing, to marinate meat, or simply to drink straight. Pomegranate seeds are also used in salads, in Muhammara (Turkish <a title="Walnut" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walnut">Walnut</a>
<a title="Garlic" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlic">Garlic</a> Spread) and in <a title="Güllaç" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BClla%C3%A7">Güllaç</a>, a famous Turkish dessert. In Azerbaijan and Armenia, pomegranate is also used to make high-quality wine which is successfully exported to other countries.</p><p>In <a title="Greece" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece">Greece</a>, pomegranate (<a title="Greek language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language">Greek</a>: ροδι, rodi) is used in many recipes; such as <i>kollivozoumi</i>, a creamy broth made from boiled wheat, pomegranates and <a title="Raisin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raisin">raisins</a>; <a title="Legume" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legume">legume</a> salad with wheat and pomegranate; traditional Middle Eastern lamb <a title="Kebabs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kebabs">kebabs</a> with pomegranate glaze; pomegranate <a title="Eggplant" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggplant">eggplant</a> relish; <a title="Avocado" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado">avocado</a> and pomegranate dip; are just some of the dishes it is used in culinary. Pomegranate is also made into a <a title="Liqueur" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liqueur">liqueur</a> and popular <a title="Greek Sweets of the Spoon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Sweets_of_the_Spoon">fruit confectionery</a> that can be used as <a title="Ice cream" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_cream">ice cream</a> topping, or mixed with <a title="Yogurt" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogurt">yogurt</a>, and even spread as <a title="Fruit preserves" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_preserves">jams</a> over toast for breakfast.</p><p><a id="Health_benefits" name="Health_benefits"></a></p><h3><span class="mw-headline">Health benefits</span></h3><p>Providing 16% of an adult's daily <a title="Vitamin C" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C">vitamin C</a> requirement per 100 ml serving, pomegranate juice is also a good source of the B vitamin, <a title="Pantothenic acid" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantothenic_acid">pantothenic acid</a>, <a title="Potassium" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium">potassium</a> and <a title="Antioxidant" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidant">antioxidant</a>
<a title="Polyphenol" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphenol">polyphenols</a>. Overall, however, pomegranate is not a significant source of nutrients<sup class="reference" id="_ref-8"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-8">[9]</a></sup>.</p><p>The most abundant polyphenols in pomegranate juice are the hydrolyzable <a title="Tannin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannin">tannins</a> called <a title="Punicalagins" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punicalagins">punicalagins</a> shown in 39 peer-reviewed research publications over 1990-2007 (August) to have potent <a title="Free-radical" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-radical">free-radical</a> scavenging ability in laboratory studies<sup class="reference" id="_ref-9"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-9">[10]</a></sup>. The <a title="Antioxidant" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidant">antioxidant</a> punicalagins absorb into the human body after consumption of pomegranate extracts <a class="external autonumber" title="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=16988113&ordinalpos=5&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=16988113&ordinalpos=5&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum" rel="nofollow">[15]</a>, and an <a title="Ex vivo" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_vivo">ex vivo</a> study of human plasma after consumption of a pomegranate extract standardized to punicalagins indicated an average 32% increase in plasma antioxidant capacity<a class="external autonumber" title="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=17090147&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=17090147&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus" rel="nofollow">[16]</a>.</p><p>Many food and <a title="Dietary supplement" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_supplement">dietary supplement</a> makers have found the advantages of using pomegranate extracts (which have no <a title="Sugar" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar">sugar</a>, <a title="Calorie" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie">calories</a>, or additives), instead of the juice, as healthy ingredients in their products. Many pomegranate extracts are essentially <a title="Ellagic acid" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellagic_acid">ellagic acid</a>, which may only be absorbed into the body after consumption of punicalagins.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-10"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-10">[11]</a></sup></p><p>In preliminary laboratory research and human pilot studies, juice of the pomegranate has been found effective in reducing <a title="Heart disease" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_disease">heart disease</a> risk factors, including <a class="new" title="LDL oxidation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=LDL_oxidation&action=edit">LDL oxidation</a>, <a title="Macrophage" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrophage">macrophage</a> oxidative status, and <a title="Foam cell" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foam_cell">foam cell</a> formation<sup class="reference" id="_ref-11"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-11">[12]</a></sup>, all of which are steps in <a title="Atherosclerosis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atherosclerosis">atherosclerosis</a> and <a title="Cardiovascular disease" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiovascular_disease">cardiovascular disease</a>. Tannins such as punicalagins have been identified as the primary components responsible for the reduction of <a title="Oxidative stress" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxidative_stress">oxidative stress</a> which led to these risk factors <sup class="reference" id="_ref-12"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-12">[13]</a></sup>. Pomegranate has been shown to reduce systolic blood pressure by inhibiting serum <a title="Angiotensin-converting enzyme" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angiotensin-converting_enzyme">angiotensin-converting enzyme</a> (ACE).<sup class="reference" id="_ref-13"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-13">[14]</a></sup></p><p>Metabolites of pomegranate juice ellagitannins have been shown to localize specifically in the prostate gland, colon and intestinal tissues of mice<sup class="reference" id="_ref-14"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-14">[15]</a></sup>. Other research indicates that pomegranate juice may be effective against <a title="Prostate cancer" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostate_cancer">prostate cancer</a><sup class="reference" id="_ref-15"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-15">[16]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="_ref-16"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-16">[17]</a></sup> and osteoarthritis<sup class="reference" id="_ref-17"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-17">[18]</a></sup>.</p><p>In 2007, six clinical trials in the United States, Israel and Norway have been approved to examine the effects of pomegranate juice consumption on parameters of prostate cancer or prostatic <a title="Hyperplasia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperplasia">hyperplasia</a>, <a title="Diabetes" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes">diabetes</a> or <a title="Lymphoma" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphoma">lymphoma</a>
<sup class="reference" id="_ref-18"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-18">[19]</a></sup>.</p><p>The juice may also have <a title="Antiviral" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiviral">antiviral</a>
<sup class="reference" id="_ref-19"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-19">[20]</a></sup> and antibacterial effects against <a title="Dental plaque" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_plaque">dental plaque</a>.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-20"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-20">[21]</a></sup></p><p><a id="Pomegranates_and_symbolism" name="Pomegranates_and_symbolism"></a></p><h2><span class="mw-headline">Pomegranates and symbolism</span></h2><ul><li><a title="Exodus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus">Exodus</a> 28:33–34 directed that images of pomegranates be woven onto the borders of <a title="Hebrews" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrews">Hebrew</a> priestly robes. <a title="Books of Kings" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_of_Kings">1 Kings</a> 7:13–22 describes pomegranates depicted in the <a title="Solomon's Temple" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon%27s_Temple">temple</a> King <a title="Solomon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon">Solomon</a> built in <a title="Jerusalem" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem">Jerusalem</a>. Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the <a title="613 mitzvot" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_mitzvot">613 mitzvot</a> or <a title="Commandments" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commandments">commandments</a> of the <a title="Torah" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torah">Torah</a>. For this reason and others, many Jews eat pomegranates on <a title="Rosh Hashanah" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Hashanah">Rosh Hashanah</a>. The pomegranate is one of the few images which appear on ancient coins of Judea as a holy symbol, and today many <a title="Torah scroll" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torah_scroll">Torah scrolls</a> are stored while not in use with a pair of decorative hollow silver "pomegranates" (<i><a title="Rimmonim" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimmonim">rimmonim</a></i>) slid down over the two upper scroll handles.</li><li>For the same reason, pomegranates are a motif found in Christian religious decoration. They are often woven into the fabric on <a title="Vestment" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestment">vestments</a> and <a title="Antependium" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antependium">liturgical hangings</a> or wrought in metalwork.</li><li>The wild pomegranate did not grow natively in the Aegean area in <a title="Neolithic" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic">Neolithic</a> times. It originated in eastern <a title="Iran" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran">Iran</a> and came to the Aegean world along the same cultural pathways that brought the goddess whom the <a title="Anatolia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolia">Anatolians</a> worshipped as <a title="Cybele" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybele">Cybele</a> and the <a title="Mesopotamia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamia">Mesopotamias</a> as <a title="Ishtar" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar">Ishtar</a>.</li><li>The myth of <a title="Persephone" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persephone">Persephone</a>, the dark goddess of the <a title="Greek underworld" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_underworld">Underworld</a>, also prominently features the pomegranate. In one version of <a title="Greek mythology" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology">Greek mythology</a>, Persephone was kidnapped by <a title="Hades" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hades">Hades</a> and taken off to live in the underworld as his wife. Her mother, <a title="Demeter" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demeter">Demeter</a> (goddess of the Harvest), went into mourning for her lost daughter and thus all green things ceased to grow. <a title="Zeus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeus">Zeus</a>, the highest ranking of the Greek gods, could not leave the Earth to die, so he commanded Hades to return Persephone. It was the rule of the <a title="Fates" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fates">Fates</a> that anyone who consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Persephone had no food, but Hades tricked her into eating four pomegranate seeds while she was still his prisoner and so, because of this, she was condemned to spend four months in the Underworld every year. During these four months, when Persephone is sitting on the throne of the Underworld next to her husband Hades, her mother Demeter mourns and no longer gives fertility to the earth. This became an ancient Greek explanation for the seasons.</li></ul><dl><dd>It should be noted that the number of seeds that Persephone ate is varied, depending on which version of the story is told. The number of seeds she is said to have eaten ranges from three to seven, which accounts for just one barren season if it is just three or four seeds, or two barren seasons (half the year) if she ate six or seven seeds. There is no set number.</dd></dl><ul><li>The pomegranate also evoked the presence of the Aegean <a title="Triple Goddess" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Goddess">Triple Goddess</a> who evolved into the Olympian <a title="Hera" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hera">Hera</a>, who is sometimes represented offering the pomegranate, as in the Polykleitos' <a title="Cult image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_image">cult image</a> of the Argive <a title="Heraion" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraion">Heraion</a> (see below). According to <a title="Carl A. P. Ruck" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_A._P._Ruck">Carl A. P. Ruck</a> and <a title="Danny Staples" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Staples">Danny Staples</a>, the chambered pomegranate is also a surrogate for the poppy's <a title="Opium" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium">narcotic capsule</a>, with its comparable shape and chambered interior.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-21"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-21">[22]</a></sup> On a Mycenaean seal illustrated in <a title="Joseph Campbell" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell">Joseph Campbell</a>'s <i>Occidental Mythology</i> 1964, figure 19, the seated Goddess of the double-headed axe (the <a title="Labrys" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labrys">labrys</a>) offers three poppy pods in her right hand and supports her breast with her left. She embodies both aspects of the dual goddess, life-giving and death-dealing at once. The Titan <a title="Orion (mythology)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_%28mythology%29">Orion</a> was represented as "marrying" <a title="Side" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side">Side</a>, a name that in Boeotia means "pomegranate", thus consecrating the primal hunter to the Goddess. Other Greek dialects call the pomegranate <i>rhoa</i>; its possible connection with the name of the earth goddess <a title="Rhea (mythology)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhea_%28mythology%29">Rhea</a>, inexplicable in Greek, proved suggestive for the mythographer <a title="Karl Kerenyi" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Kerenyi">Karl Kerenyi</a>, who suggested that the consonance might ultimately derive from a deeper, <a title="Pre-Indo-European" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Indo-European">pre-Indo-European language</a> layer.</li></ul><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="WIDTH: 182px;"><a class="image" title="Pomegranate — opened up" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pomegranate_opened.jpg"><img class="thumbimage" height="135" alt="Pomegranate — opened up" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Pomegranate_opened.jpg/180px-Pomegranate_opened.jpg" width="180" border="0"/></a>
<div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify" style="FLOAT: right;"><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pomegranate_opened.jpg"><img height="11" alt="" src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15"/></a></div>Pomegranate — opened up</div></div></div><ul><li>In the 6th century BCE, <a title="Polykleitos" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykleitos">Polykleitos</a> took ivory and gold to sculpt the seated <a title="Argive" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argive">Argive</a> Hera in her temple. She held a scepter in one hand and offered a pomegranate, like a royal orb, in the other. "About the pomegranate I must say nothing," whispered the traveller <a title="Pausanias (geographer)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pausanias_%28geographer%29">Pausanias</a> in the second century AD, "for its story is something of a mystery." Indeed, in the Orion story we hear that Hera cast pomegranate-<a title="Side" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side">Side</a> (an ancient city in Antalya) into dim <a title="Erebus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erebus">Erebus</a> — "for daring to rival Hera's beauty", which forms the probable point of connection with the older Osiris/Isis story. Since the ancient Egyptians identified the Orion constellation in the sky as <a class="new" title="Sah" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sah&action=edit">Sah</a> the "soul of <a title="Osiris" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osiris">Osiris</a>", the identification of this section of the myth seems relatively complete. Hera wears, not a wreath nor a tiara nor a diadem, but clearly the <a title="Calyx (flower)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calyx_%28flower%29">calyx</a> of the pomegranate that has become her serrated crown.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-22"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#_note-22">[23]</a></sup> In some artistic depictions, the pomegranate is found in the hand of <a title="Mary, the mother of Jesus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%2C_the_mother_of_Jesus">Mary</a>, mother of Jesus.</li><li>In modern times the pomegranate still holds strong symbolic meanings for the Greeks. On important days in the <a title="Greek Orthodox Church" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Orthodox_Church">Greek Orthodox</a> calendar, such as the Presentation of the <a title="Mary, the mother of Jesus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%2C_the_mother_of_Jesus">Virgin Mary</a> and on <a title="Christmas" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas">Christmas Day</a>, it is traditional to have at the dinner table <i>"polysporia"</i>, also known by their ancient name "panspermia," in some regions of Greece. In ancient times they were offered to <a title="Demeter" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demeter">Demeter</a><sup class="noprint Template-Fact"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources since February 2007" style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap;">[<i><a title="Wikipedia:Citing sources" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources">citation needed</a></i>]</span></sup> and to the other gods for fertile land, for the spirits of the dead and in honor of compassionate <a title="Dionysus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysus">Dionysus</a>. In modern times the symbolic meaning is assumed by <a title="Jesus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus">Jesus</a> and his mother Mary. Pomegranates are also prominent at Greek weddings and funerals. When Greeks commemorate their dead, they make <a title="Koliva" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koliva">kollyva</a> as offerings that consist of boiled wheat, mixed with sugar and decorated with pomegranate. It is also traditional in Greece to break a pomegranate on the ground at weddings, on New Years and when one buys a new home for a house guest to bring as a first gift a pomegranate which is placed under/near the <b><a title="Ikonostasi" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikonostasi">ikonostasi</a></b>, (home altar), of the house, as it is a symbol of abundance, fertility and good luck. Pomegranate decorations for the home are very common in Greece and sold in most homegoods stores <a class="external autonumber" title="http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:CehRcicwl6gJ:www.christmasmagazine.com/en/spirit/xmas_greece.asp+pomegranate+New+Years+Greek+good+luck&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=9" href="http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:CehRcicwl6gJ:www.christmasmagazine.com/en/spirit/xmas_greece.asp+pomegranate+New+Years+Greek+good+luck&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=9" rel="nofollow">[17]</a>.</li></ul></div>
