They were known to the ancient Greeks, who attributed the existence of winter to pomegranates. Persephone, daughter of the Earth-goddess Demeter, was abducted by Hades, god of the Underworld. Ever afterward, the anguished Demeter mourned for that entire season, allowing the Earth to become cold and barren. Spanish missionaries brought the trees to California and Mexico in the 17th century. Today, California produces most of the pomegranates sold here.
Pomegranate trees are long-lived for fruit trees.
A few trees in Europe are known to be over 200 years old. Pomegranate trees are often used as ornamental hedges because, even in climates too cool to allow them to produce fruit, they bear showy flowers in bright shades of red, orange, or yellow. It takes a long, hot summer to encourage the development of good fruits. Boiled pomegranate rind made a yellow dye that could be used to stain leather and cloth. It was sometimes added to food to tinge it yellow, a sort of poor-mans saffron.