Punica granatum

• Botanical Name : Punica granatum L.
• Common Name : Dadam, Pomegranate
• Plant Family : Lythraceae

• According to the new classification by Hutchinson, this plant is placed in the family Punicaceae.

• Plant Form : Shrub
• Occurrence (Sectors) : 1, 4, 22, 27, 28
• Occurrence (Special Areas) : Van Chetana Kendra, Infocity, Basan, Aranya Van

About Punica granatum Plant :

• Habit : A small shrub with young branches 4-angled.
• Leaves :
  • Opposite, entire, lanceolate.
  • The leaves fall off from the young branches which then are modified into thorns.
• Inflorescence : Solitary or cymose.
• Flowers :
  • Red-crimson, calyx 5-7 fid, cup-shaped, valvate.
  • Petals 5-7, alternate with calyx teeth, with wavy margins.
  • Stamens many inside the cup-shaped calyx.
  • Ovary inferior, carpels many, in 2 rows, one above the other, surrounded by the calyx, style small, stigma capitate.
• Fruit :
  • A balausta, globose, brown crowned by the persistent calyx.
  • Seeds many angular, surrounded by pulpy, juicy, white, pink or red aril.
• Flowering and Fruiting Time : All the year round.
• Significance :
  • Cultivated mainly for its fruit (juicy aril of the seeds).
  • The fruit rind is given in diarrhea and dysentery.
  • A decoction of the flowers is gargled to relieve oral and throat inflammations.