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Fruit*
The pomegranate tree displays a beautiful, orangish-red flower that blooms in the spring. Fruits ripen 6 to 7 months after flowering and cannot be ripened off the tree. The pomegranate plant can range in size from a shrub to a tree up to 30 feet tall, and has been known to live as long as two centuries. Most pomegranate orchards in the United States are found in southern California and Arizona.
The fruit of the pomegranate is a hardy, long-lived subtropical shrub originating in semi-arid regions of Asia that has been cultivated and naturalized over the whole of the Mediterranean region since ancient times. The source of the sweet, tangy juice are the jeweled, glassy red seeds, called arils, which are surrounded by scarlet pulp.
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History*
 The pomegranate has been extensively used as an ancient folk medicine in many cultures.
Pomegranates are mentioned in Egyptian papyrus scrolls dating back to 1550 BC, and pomegranate branches form part of the decorative motif on the pillars of King Solomon’s temple.
While Romans first encountered huge groves in northern Africa, it was the Spanish sailors who carried pomegranates on their exploratory voyages to the New World, and Spanish missionaries are renowned for introducing this healing fruit into California in the 1700s.
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Benefits*
 In the ongoing quest to find new supplements to help us lead longer, healthier lives, science often returns to things that have been used regularly for thousands of years. The pomegranate’s effectiveness has been rediscovered in preventing a variety of potentially deadly diseases. Dozens of recent studies reveal the pomegranate’s surprising array of benefits.
The pomegranate has more antioxidant power than most other natural substances, including more than red wine, orange juice, blueberry juice and cranberry juice. Antioxidants are extremely important because they guard our bodies against free radical damage. Free radicals are molecules that can cause premature aging, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and even cancer.
Besides being extremely rich in antioxidants, pomegranates also contain vitamins A, B, and C, tannins, and oxalic acid. The pomegranate also contains ellagic acids that demonstrate a potent anti-atherogenicity - indicating a protective role against
cardiovascular disease.
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