Pomegranate

Punica granatum

Also known as Chinese Apple, Grenadine Tree, Anar

At a glance

Family

Lythraceae (the loosestrife family, once classified alone in its own family, Punicaceae)

Type

Deciduous shrub or small tree

Parts used

Arils (the juicy seeds), juice, and dried peel

Size

12 to 20 feet tall, often multi-stemmed and thicketing

Bloom

Crumpled, trumpet-shaped scarlet-orange flowers from late spring into summer

Habitat

Native to the region stretching from Iran to the Himalayas, now cultivated across the Mediterranean, Middle East, South Asia, and warm regions of the Americas

Acquisition

Grow or buy

This plant in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Rich in antioxidants

Traditionally supports heart health

Traditionally soothes sore throats

Prized for skin vitality

Traditional uses

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Pomegranate has been treasured since antiquity, its jeweled seeds carved into Persian palace reliefs and buried alongside Egyptian pharaohs as provisions for the afterlife. In Greek myth it was the fruit Persephone tasted in the underworld, binding her to return each year, a story ancient people told to explain the turning of the seasons. Across Ayurvedic, Unani, and traditional Mediterranean medicine, the juice was valued as a tonic for vigor and the heart, while the dried rind was steeped into a tea traditionally used to calm a sore throat and settle an unsettled stomach. For thousands of years it has also stood as a symbol of abundance and fertility at weddings and New Year tables from Turkey to India.

How to grow & use it

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Pairs well with

✦Hibiscus
✦Rose
✦Ginger

Substitutes

✦Hibiscus
✦Cranberry

Choose it when

“For a jewel-bright handful of ruby seeds that taste like autumn distilled into something sweet and tart at once.”

Did you know?

The word grenade comes from the French pomme grenate, meaning pomegranate, because early hand-thrown explosives were shaped like the fruit and scattered fragments the way its seeds scatter when it splits open.

Safety

The fruit, juice, and peel are a safe, everyday food, but the bark, root, and stem contain toxic alkaloids and should never be eaten or prepared as a remedy. Juice and supplements can interact with blood pressure medications, blood thinners, and liver-metabolized drugs.