Fruit of the Gods

                           Illustration by Mary-Anne King

Carolanne Sudderth

Mirror staff writer

   Its dusty crimson, leathery-skinned outer casing is too tough to be appealing. Inside, is a collection of beehive-like cells. Nestled in each is one tiny red sub-fruit, a garnet squirt of tangy juice.
   Pomegranates are sold as exotic novelties despite the fact that they can easily be grown in southern California.
   The pomegranate "tree" is actually a large fountain-shaped, deciduous shrub, which reaches a height of about ten feet. If memory serves, it is also full of long, unfriendly thorns.
   The leaves are narrow, and a glossy bright- to- golden green. Flowers are a vibrant, almost a fluorescent, vermilion. The petals are surprisingly leathery, roughly the texture of a fine kid glove, and a harbinger of the tough outer shell of the fruit to follow. 
   Almost custom-made for xeriphytic gardens, they do well with very little water, but can take a lot if drainage is good, and thrives in alkaline soil that would kill many other plants. 
   A pomegranate can be trained into a standard (single-trunk tree shape) or espaliered. This is the tree to use on those hard-to-garden against west- and south- facing walls where lesser plants burn to a crisp.
   In fact, heat is a requirement for fruiting which makes it almost obligatory to find a southern or western exposure in the cool coastal areas. As is usually the case with food plants, if fruit is desired, ignore the drought-tolerant label and water it generously anyway, and be careful to do so regularly. A sudden wealth of water will cause fruit to split. 
   The pomegranate has long been associated with fertility. During the Renaissance, it was frequently included in portraits of newly-married couples, a hopeful portent of many bambinos to come.
   Greek mythology ascribes the appearance of winter to the humble pomegranate. Demeter, the goddess of agriculture had a lovely white daughter called Persephone after whom Pluto, the dusky god of the underworld, had lusted for some time. One day, the gates of hell opened, and he snatched her from the face of the earth.
   Demeter was inconsolable. She lost interest in and neglected her duties, and the crops which had been lush and fruitful, withered and died. Finally, a truce was negotiated, and it was arranged that Persephone would be returned to her mother. Now, during all this time, the girl had been too upset to eat and had refused all food and drink. Pluto suggested that she share a pomegranate with him as a parting gesture. She innocently ate four of its tiny seeds, thereby condemning herself to spend four months out of every year in the netherworld. 
   Every year since then, Demeter has mourned those four months without her daughter. Every year since then, for four months, the earth grows dark and cold, the plants die, and we experience winter.