MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 145 
FEIJOA SELLOWIANA 
This ornamental shrub, commonly called the pineapple 
guava, is of recent introduction in the United States although 
it has been known to Europeans for over thirty years. It was 
first collected in South America by Dr. Edouard Andre, who 
planted it in his garden at Villa Colombia, on the Riviera, and 
succeeded in developing its first fruits in 1897. In 1891 Dr. 
F. Franceshi, of Santa Barbara, obtained a stock from Andre 
and brought about the original introduction in California. As 
a commercial fruit it is becoming popular in Florida and 
California. At Gotha, Florida, plants have been grown since 
1911 by Mr. H. Nehrling, and at Miami by the United States 
Department of Agriculture. 
The fruit is about the size of a walnut, glossy green, and 
slightly fragrant when ripe. It is used in jams, jellies, ete., 
and in combination with the guava is excellent in preserves. 
In England its cultivation is not successful, according to the 
Gardeners’ Chronicle, but it is useful as an ornamental pot 
plant. The specimen in the economic house has bloomed pro- 
fusely but has not produced fruit. 
PAPAYA (CARICA PAPAYA) 
The papaya is a popular breakfast fruit for both rich and 
poor in Hawaii, and with the exception of the banana is 
about the only fruit which enters into the daily diet of the 
people. Due to the large quantity of papain contained, an 
enzyme which aids in digestion, it is extremely wholesome and 
large quantities may be eaten. 
The plant grows to a height of twenty feet, bearing large 
palmate, seven-lobed leaves often measuring two feet across. 
The fruit varies in size up to fifteen pounds, forty or fifty 
being borne on a tree. The flesh is salmon-pink to yellow, 
somewhat resembling a muskmelon. Nearly all parts of the 
plant are credited with some medicinal value. The seeds 
possess anthelmintic and carminative properties, the bark is 
used in the manufacture of rope, and the roots afford a nerve 
tonic. The most important medicinal property is contained 
in the milky juice which furnishes the papain of commerce. 
This is obtained by cutting or slashing the fruit and allowing 
the juice collected to evaporate to a granular condition. In 
this crude form it brings a market price of four to eight dol- 
lars a pound. The leaves and juice are used to render tough 
meat tender. This is accomplished by wrapping the meat in 
the leaves over night, by rubbing a slice of the green fruit 
