POMEGRANATE (OF. pone yranntr, from 31L. pomum granatum, apple with seeds, from tat. pomum, apple, pome, and yrunatus, having seeds, from granum, seed, grain), Punica aralla illM. A thorny shrub or small tree of the natural order Myrtacefe, native of Southwest Asia, natu ralized in Southern Europe, and widelyeultivated during historic time. The cultivated varieties, which are scarcely thorny, have coral red wax-like terminal flowers, leathery skinned fruits as large as oranges, yellow with a rosy cheek. Each of the many seeds is enveloped in a sweet or sub-acid separate pulp inclosed by a thin membrane. This pulp is often used for the preparation of cooling drinks. A kind of pomegranate without seeds is cultivated and much prized in India and Persia. There are ornamental varieties with double flowers. The finest morocco leather is to be tanned with the rind of the fruit. In the
States the cultivation of the pomegranate is confined to the southern part of Florida and the warmer parts of California. as the tree is tender, being injured by a temperature of 8° to 10° below freezing. In some portions of the South the plant is used for hedges. It is propa gated by cuttings of both green and ripe wood, by layers, and by grafting.
POM'ELO (('itrus Decumana), The generally accepted name of the grapefruit (q.v.), or forbid den fruit, a round-fruited, lemon-colored sub tropical tree of the natural order Rutace:c. The sub-acid pulp is highly esteemed as a dessert, for which purpose large and increasing quantities are shipped to Northern and Eastern American mar kets from California and the West Indies. See Colored Plate of CITRUS FRUITS.