In the Pashtun language from Afghanistan, the word for pomegranate begins with an ‘a’ and so a picture of a pomegranate is used to teach children the letter ‘a’, like we use the apple in English.

In Uzbekistan, it is a sacred flower and they say that Eve used a pomegranate to seduce Adam.

In Anatolia, Turkey, this fruit symbolises plentifulness and abundance and femininity too.

In Iran, it is a very important fruit and is used in designs, paintings and tiles. It symbolises a woman’s breasts. Each courtyard in Tehran used to have a lovely pomegranate tree and grandmothers hung them from the ceiling to preserve them in winter and to release their wonderful fragrance in the house.

A poet in Uzbekistan wrote in the 19th century: “It has no window or doors. What is this dome? Many girls, like delicate flowers, made it their home. When I opened the wall to see the lives inside, I found them veiled and their heart full of blood.”

The expression, “their heart full of blood”, is used to mean the utmost unhappiness and human suffering and the poet wanted to describe the lives of Uzbek women in the 19th century: locked, veiled and suffering a lot.

I got this information from the BBC World Service Radio thanks to my DAB+ radio.

The prophet Muhammad once remarked: “Eat the pomegranate, for it purges the system of envy and hatred.”

It is said in the Bible that Solomon had an orchard full of them and the children of Israel longed for pomegranate in the desert, according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica online.

This punica granatum is loaded with important nutrients and has compounds with powerful medicinal properties and anti-inflammatory effects.

May we treasure our indigenous trees.