Editing Pomegranate (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Pom May 2022.jpg|thumb|right|Pomegranate being trained as a [[bonsai]]]]

The pomegranate is a [[shrub]] or small tree growing {{cvt|5|to|10|m|abbr=on}} high, with multiple spiny branches. It is long-lived, with some specimens in France surviving for 200 years.<ref name="Purdue"/> ''P. granatum'' [[leaf|leaves]] are opposite or subopposite, glossy, narrow oblong, entire, {{cvt|3|–|7|cm|frac=4|abbr=on}} long and {{cvt|2|cm|frac=4|abbr=on}} broad. The [[flower]]s are bright red and {{cvt|3|cm|frac=4|abbr=on}} in diameter, with three to seven petals.<ref name="Purdue"/> Some fruitless varieties are grown for the flowers alone.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://homeorchard.ucanr.edu/The_Big_Picture/Pollination |title=Pollination |website=The California Backyard Orchard |publisher=University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources |access-date=25 May 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Pomegranate fruit - whole and piece with arils.jpg|thumb|Whole pomegranate and piece with arils]]

===Fruit===
[[File:Flower of Pomegranate.jpg|thumb|Pomegranate flower]]
[[File:Pomegranate Fruit Setting.jpg|thumb|right|Fruit setting]]

The pomegranate fruit [[husk]] is red-purple with an outer, hard [[pericarp]], and an inner, spongy [[mesocarp]] (white "albedo"), which comprises the fruit's inner wall where seeds attach.<ref name="stover">{{cite journal|last1=Stover |first1=E. |last2=Mercure |first2=E. W.|title=The Pomegranate: A New Look at the Fruit of Paradise|journal=HortScience|date=2007|volume=42|issue=5|pages=1088–1092|doi=10.21273/HORTSCI.42.5.1088 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Membranes of the mesocarp are organized as nonsymmetric chambers that contain seeds which are embedded without attachment to the mesocarp.<ref name=stover/> Pomegranate seeds are characterized by having [[sarcotesta]], thick fleshy seed coats derived from the integuments or outer layers of the ovule's [[epidermal cell]]s.<ref name=holland/><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/54734#page/653/mode/1up |last1=Dahlgren |first1=R. |first2=R. F. |last2=Thorne |year=1984 |title=The order Myrtales: circumscription, variation, and relationships |journal=Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=633–699 |doi=10.2307/2399158 |jstor=2399158 |access-date=14 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012004257/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/54734#page/653/mode/1up |archive-date=12 October 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The number of seeds in a pomegranate can vary from 200 to about 1,400.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.aquaphoenix.com/misc/pomegranate/| title=Does a larger pomegranate yield more seeds?| publisher=AquaPhoenix| access-date=21 September 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061104163317/http://www.aquaphoenix.com/misc/pomegranate/| archive-date=4 November 2006| url-status=dead}}</ref>

Botanically, the [[fruit]] is a [[Berry (botany)|berry]] with edible seeds and pulp produced from the [[ovary (botany)|ovary]] of a single flower.<ref name="holland">{{cite book |last1=Holland |first1=D. |last2=Hatib |first2=K. |last3=Bar-Ya'akov |first3=I. |chapter=Pomegranate: Botany, Horticulture, Breeding |title=Horticultural Reviews |volume=35 |chapter-url=https://ucanr.edu/sites/pomegranates/files/164442.pdf |access-date=19 November 2017 |date=2009 |pages=127–191 |doi=10.1002/9780470593776.ch2 |isbn=9780470593776 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184824/http://ucanr.edu/sites/Pomegranates/files/164442.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> The fruit is intermediate in size between a [[lemon]] and a [[grapefruit]], {{convert|5|–|12|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} in diameter with a rounded shape and thick, reddish husk.<ref name="Purdue"/>

In mature fruits, the juice obtained by compressing the seeds yields a tart flavor due to low [[pH]] (4.4) and high contents of [[polyphenol]]s,<ref name="ftb">{{cite journal|pmc=5079168|year=2015|last1=Fernandes|first1=L.|title=Physicochemical Changes and Antioxidant Activity of Juice, Skin, Pellicle and Seed of Pomegranate (cv. Mollar de Elche) at Different Stages of Ripening|journal=Food Technology and Biotechnology|volume=53|issue=4|pages=397–406|last2=Pereira|first2=J. A.|last3=López Cortés|first3=I.|last4=Salazar|first4=D. M.|last5=Ramalhosa|first5=E. C.|pmid=27904374|doi=10.17113/ftb.53.04.15.3884}}</ref> which may cause a red indelible stain on fabrics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ucfoodsafety.ucdavis.edu/files/26390.pdf|title=Pomegranates|publisher=Utah State University, Department of Food Safety|author=Jorgensen, SuzAnne|author2=Brennand, Charlotte|date=June 2005|access-date=17 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912114742/http://ucfoodsafety.ucdavis.edu/files/26390.pdf|archive-date=12 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[pigment]]ation of pomegranate juice primarily results from the presence of [[anthocyanin]]s and [[Pomegranate ellagitannin|ellagitannin]]s.<ref name=ftb/><ref name="jafc">{{cite journal|pmid=23656584|year=2013|last1=Gómez Caravaca|first1=A. M.|title=Determination of the major phenolic compounds in pomegranate juices by HPLC−DAD−ESI-MS|journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry|volume=61|issue=22|pages=5328–37|last2=Verardo|first2=V.|last3=Toselli|first3=M.|last4=Segura Carretero|first4=A.|last5=Fernández Gutiérrez|first5=A.|last6=Caboni|first6=M. F.|doi=10.1021/jf400684n|bibcode=2013JAFC...61.5328G }}</ref>