Pomegranate was cultivated in ancient times all around the Mediterranean and throughout the Arabian Peninsula. It is a deciduous tree or large shrub that produces fruit under semiarid conditions. It is native to Iran. The pomegranate is a small tree that typically grows to 4-5 m (12 to 16 ft) in height. The trunk is covered by a red-brown bark which later becomes gray. The branches are stiff, angular and often spiny. The leaves are glossy, leathery in texture and long and narrow in shape. The flowers are usually scarlet, the same as the skin of the fruit. Pomegranate trees are known to live over 200 years, but fruit production is at best the first 15 years.

Pomegranate seeds have a sweet-sour taste. Crushed or whole, they can be used as a garnish or in cooking. They are rich in vitamin C and are a good source of dietary fiber. The juice is also used in cooking to give a tart flavor to the food, and it makes a refreshing drink on hot summer days.

The peel can be dried and crushed for culinary, cosmetic or medicinal purposes. Mixed with henna to make it darker and provide skin nourishment. Boiled peelings are used as a coloring dye. Powdered pomegranate peelings are used on burns and to treat infection on external cuts and wounds. Soaked pomegranate peelings are used for sore throats, stomach aches and indigestion.

Commercially produced sweetened pomegranate syrup is called grenadine.

The Spanish name for the pomegranate is granada, and its fruit appears on Granada's city seal. The Romans called the fruit punicum, the Latin name for Carthage, because they believed that the best pomegranates came from there.

When a pomegranate is dropped on a hard surface, it bursts and seeds are tossed everywhere, probably inspiring the military use of the grenade.

Reference: Saudi Aramco World, September/October 2006; http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/pomegranate.html