Friday 20 April 2012

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 16

The pomegranate, Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall. Native to the area of modern day Iran and Iraq, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as well as the Himalayas in Northern India. Today, it is widely cultivated throughout Turkey, Iran, Syria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, China, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, the drier parts of southeast Asia, the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe, and tropical Africa.

Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is also cultivated in parts of California and Arizona for juice production. In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February. In the Southern Hemisphere, the pomegranate is in season from March to May. Melbourne's mild climate is particularly well-suited to this tree and many fine specimens can be seen gracing the front and back yards of houses, especially those belonging to immigrants from the countries where the pomegranate is widespread.

The pomegranate has been mentioned in many ancient texts, notably the Book of Exodus, the Homeric Hymns and the Quran. In recent years, it has reached mainstream prominence in the commercial markets of North America and the Western Hemisphere. Its health benefits are numerous and it finds widespread culinary uses.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.






16 comments:

  1. How cool! I love how the giant fat flower becomes the fruit. Magical :)

    Speaking of the bible, I heard that the "apple" from the Garden of Eden might have actually been a pomegranate.

    Did it take long to capture all the phases like this? I love your tree series! Hope you don't run out any time soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh thank you very much Nick for that trove of information. We have pomegranates too, brought in by the Spaniards centuries ago, but they are more of ornamentals than as fruit. I have long been hoping to plant it when the rainy season starts, but many years passed and i still just look at the nice shrubs i see on the way while riding on public transports. I certainly love your photos especially that last one!

    ReplyDelete
  3. great post, I enjoyed the different stages of the pomegranate

    ReplyDelete
  4. We are enjoying the fruit from our pomegranate tree at the moment. The seeds look wonderful in a rice salad. We call it jeweled rice.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What wonderful shots and history you provide us! Watching the different stages was a treat since I have never seen a tree growing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful post and fantastic pictures.

    Herding Cats

    http://seathreepeeo.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a wonderful series of images. So nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for showing the life of the pomegranate, Nick.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's so beautiful. At first I thought it was a guava but then I saw the seeds. :)

    Layered Hibiscus

    ReplyDelete
  10. I always enjoy your flora sequences. Beautiful and great job.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very nice shots, fascinating ...
    Love greetings, Karin

    ReplyDelete
  12. WOW!!! What a fascinating post. Learning about the pomegranate was so interesting. My granddaughter and I love to eat the seeds. Such a nice series of pictures. genie

    ReplyDelete
  13. My favorite fruit! Great shot.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The last one grabs the attention.The flowers too are very cute. Lovely pictures.

    We have a tree in our shared compound wall. We had to cut it out this year, due to heavy branching and thorny stubs.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I've never seen these trees, although I've eaten pomegranates and tried the juice. The last photo is particularly amazing to see.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wonderful post Nick. I have never even thought about what a pomegranate flower or tree would look like and I drink pomegranate juice everyday! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

Feel free to comment, I'd really like to hear from you!
Please do not use this comment box to advertise your goods and services!