Pomegranate

A pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall. The pomegranate is mostly native to the Iranian Plateau and the Himalayas in north Pakistan and Northern India. It has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times, and today, is widely cultivated throughout Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Egypt, China, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the drier parts of southeast Asia, the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe, and tropical Africa.^[1] Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is now cultivated in parts of California and Arizona for juice production.^[2]
In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February.^[3] In the Southern Hemisphere, it is in season from March to May.
The pomegranate is a very ancient fruit, mentioned in the Homeric Hymns and the Book of Exodus.^[4] Yet, it has still to reach mainstream prominence in the commercial markets of North America and the Western Hemisphere.