Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Lythraceae
Genus: Punica
Species: P. granatum
Binomial name
Punica granatum L.
Synonyms
Punica malus Linnaeus, 1758
The pomegranate is widely considered to have originated in the vicinity of Iran and has been cultivated since ancient times.
The Punica granatum leaves are opposite or sub-opposite, glossy, narrow oblong, entire, 37 cm long and 2 cm broad. The flowers are bright red, 3 cm in diameter, with four to five petals (often more on cultivated plants). Some fruitless varieties are grown for the flowers alone. The edible fruit is a berry and is between a lemon and a grapefruit in size, 512 cm in diameter with a rounded hexagonal shape, and has thick reddish skin. The exact number of seeds in a pomegranate can vary from 200 to about 1400 seeds, contrary to some beliefs that all pomegranates have exactly the same number of seeds. [9] Each seed has a surrounding water-laden pulpthe edible arilranging in color from white to deep red or purple. The seeds are embedded in a white, spongy, astringent membrane.