Punica granatum_Wild(Hindi-Anaar/Daarim,Garhwali-Darim/Daru,Himachali-Daram/Daadam,Sanskrit-Dadim/Dadhim,Popular-Wild Pomegranate)Punicaceae.It is an erect deciduous spreading shrub or tree growing upto 8-10 m height.Wood is very hard and light yellow.Leaves are opposite, lanceolate, about 5.7 cm long and 1.7 cm broad with entire margins.Flowers are solitary or in axillary clusters of 2 to 6,3.6 cm diameter,rose coloured.Fruits are globose,covered with persistent calyx,4.2-6.6 cm diameter, yellowish green with a red tinge.Wild pomegranate is an emerging wild fruit of Central Asia.It is native in the region from Northern India to Iran with its shrubs found in the forests of these areas.In India, it is widely distributed in drier and submarginal land of outer Himalaya at an altitude of 900-1800 m covering the mid hill belts of HP,J and K and Uttarakhand states.One of the important centres of wild pomegranate is Darlaghat in Himachal Pradesh.The major use of wild pomegranate is for the making of Anardana which is used in making chutney and as a souring agent in various preparations.The seeds of the fruits are spread on the roofs and sun-dried to make Anardana.Every year,Anardana worth thousands of rupees is collected from the hills and sold at various places throughout the country.Besides Anardana,large quantities of the fruit rind woth thousands of rupees is exported for use in various industries.Fruit rind contains 30 percent tannins which can be successfully used in combination with synthetic tannins for tanning leather.The dried rind yields a fast yellow dye which is used for dying clothes and for making a hair dye.Root bark contains 22 percent tannins which can be used for tanning leather and also making jet-black ink.Anardana is used in many Asian cusines,curries and also as an important medicinal ingredient in many Ayurvedic and Unani formulations for the treatment of infections such as mouth and stomach inflammatios, dysentery, dyspepsia, vomiting and cardiac troubles.The juice of the fresh leaves and young fruit is given in dysentery.Bark powder is given for expelling roundworms.Unripe fruit and flowers are useful in inducing vomiting.Rind of the fruit is given in diarrhea and dysentery,it also strengthens the gums.The flower buds are astringent and given in chronic diarrhoea and dysentery.The juice of the fruit can be used to make a very good squash.The wood of the tree is very hard and durable and generally used in making agricultural implants.The fruits have much smaller arils,thicker rinds and higher acidity as compared to cultivated ones.In recent years,its demand has increased as it is a great source of natural antioxidants and health promoting constituents like organic acids (citric acid as a major cinstituent followed by succinic,malic, oxalic and tartaric acida), anthocyanins, phenolic compounds, minerals and vitamins.High levels of anthocyanins and phenolic compounds in the blood plasma have an impact on lowering down the risk of various cancers and heart diseases.Pomegranate butterfly (Virachola isocrate) is the most serious pest of this shrub and is responsible for heavy damage.The caterpillars of this insect are responsible for rotting and premature dropping of the fruits in the rainy season..So, the pest are required to be controlled immediately to increase the yield of wild pomegranate trees which will ultimately increase the revenue of the States.
– Mukherjee Bk
