Posted on: Friday, March 18, 2005

HAWAI'I'S GARDENS
A luscious springtime fruit that goes way back

By Duane Choy

Historically, this fruit has been revered as an emblem of health, fertility and immortality.

It has been the subject of countless myths, epics and works of art.

These clues will help you solve this puzzle:

Persephone: In this Greek myth, Hades kidnaps Zeus's beautiful daughter and takes her to the Underworld. Persephone is made his eternal queen by eating this fruit. She is only able to return above ground once a year in the form of the spring season.

Odyssey: Homer speaks of this fruit's cultivation in the gardens of the kings of Phrygia and Phaecia.

Mohammed: The Prophet raised this fruit for its nutritional and spiritual value. He encouraged his followers to eat it as a means of purging their bodies of envy and hatred.

Egyptian King Tutankhamen: These fruits were buried inside his tomb to ensure safe passage to the afterlife and rebirth.

Garden of Eden: Many scholars now suggest that it was this fruit, not an apple, that grew in the biblical garden.

Renaissance: This fruit was a popular design element in fabric patterns. A famed Italian painter of this era, Sandro Botticelli, painted the Madonna and this fruit.

Aesop's fables: In one story, this fruit argues with a proud apple over who is more beautiful.

Numerous children: In China, this fruit traditionally symbolized abundance, prosperity and numerous offspring. Its seeds were sugared and offered to wedding guests. A picture of this ripe fruit also made an enticing wedding gift. Whole fruits were placed on the floor around the wedding bed to ensure a joyful and fruitful union.

Aphrodite: Ancient Greeks believed that the goddess of love planted the first of this fruit on the island of Cyprus. This also led to the fruit's reputation as a powerful aphrodisiac and "love potion."

Three blessed fruit: In Buddhism, this is one of the three blessed fruit, along with the citrus and the peach.

Egyptian medicine: This fruit was used to treat maladies ranging from dysentery and stomach aches to tapeworms.

Still having a problem with the answer? Take the first letter of each of the above clues, in the order given, and you have your solution.

In Hawai'i, its name is pomelaike or pomelaiki ... enjoy this irresistible, luscious fruit. Countless others throughout history are way ahead of you.

Duane Choy is a volunteer coordinator and heads docent training for the Honolulu botanical gardens. Reach him at hbg@honolulu.gov. Foster Botanical Garden, 50 N. Vineyard Blvd., is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. For more information about the garden, call 522-7066.