MYRTLE FAMILY (MYRTACEAE) 



195. Guayaba, common guava 



Guayaba or guava is a well-known cultivated 

 tree, because of the paste and jelly made from its 

 fruits. It is characterized by: (1) shrubby form, 

 the stems seldom straight; (2) smooth reddish- 

 brown bark which is thin and scales off in thin 

 sheets; (3) oblong or elliptic leaves with sunken 

 veins and minute gland dots; (4) large white flow- 

 ers about iy2 inches across the 4 or 5 large petals, 

 mostly borne singly at leaf bases; and (5) rounded 

 (sometimes j^ear-shaped) yellow edible fruits 

 11/4-2 inches in diameter, with 4 or 5 sepals at 

 apex. 



Generally a shrub or low, widely spreading ever- 

 green tree 10-15 feet high and to 8 inches in diam- 

 eter. Inner bark is brown and slightly bitter. 

 Young twigs are 4-angled and slightly winged, 

 hairy, and green, becoming brown. 



The leaves have short petioles i/g — Vi ii^^h long. 

 Leaf blades are 2—4 inches long and 1-2 inches 

 wide, short-pointed or rounded at both ends, 

 slightly thickened and leathery, with edges a little 

 turned under, the upper surface green or yellow 

 green, slightly shiny, almost hairless at maturity, 

 with the many pai-allel lateral veins sunken, and 

 lower surface paler, finely hairy, and with lateral 

 veins raised. 



The fragrant flowers are scattered on stalks %-l 

 inch long at base of a leaf. The green finely hairy 

 tubular base (hypanthium) % inch long and 

 broad encloses the ovary and bears the other parts. 

 There are 4 or 5 yellow-green, slightly thickened, 

 finely hairy sepals %-% iii^h long; 4 or 5 elliptic 

 rounded white petals %-% inch long; and very 

 numerous brushlike spreading stamens with slen- 

 der white filaments averaging I/2 iii<^h long; and 

 pistil consisting of the inferior 4- or 5-celled ovary 

 and slender white style y^e inch long. 



Cultivated varieties of this variable species 

 difl'er in fruit characters. The fruits (berries) 

 have a strong mellow odor at maturity. "Within 

 the thin, yellow, slightly sour, edible outer layer 



Psidium guajava L.* 



are numerous yellow seeds more than i/g inch long 

 in a juicy, pinkish or yellow pulp. Flowering and 

 fruiting nearly throughout the year. 



The sapwood is light brown, and the heartwood 

 brown or reddish. The hard, strong, heavy wood 

 (specific gravity 0.8) has been used for handles 

 and implements. 



Commonly cultivated as a fruit tree. The fruits 

 are unusually rich in vitamin C. The outer layer 

 of the fruit is preserved and canned commercially, 

 as is the juice. Guava powder has been pi-epared 

 from the dehydrated fruits also. Elsewhere the 

 bark has been employed in tanning. Extracts 

 from lea\'es, bark, roots, and buds have served in 

 folk medicine. 



Forming thickets and spreading in pastures, 

 chiefly on the coastal plains but also in the lower 

 mountain regions of Puerto Rico. Also in Mona, 

 Vieques, St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, and 

 Tortola. 



Range. — Native of tropical America probably 

 from southern Mexico south to South America, the 

 range greatly extended beyond through cultiva- 

 tion. Planted and naturalized also in southern 

 Florida including Florida Keys (grown also in 

 California), Bermuda, and throughout West In- 

 dies from Bahamas and Cuba to Trinidad, and 

 south to Brazil. Cultivated in Dutch West Indies. 

 Also introduced in tropical and subtropical 

 regions of the Old World. 



Other common names. — ^guava (Virgin Is- 

 lands) ; guayaba, guayava, guayabo (Spanish) ; 

 guayaba perulera (Nicaragua) ; guayabo dulce 

 (Colombia) ; araza-puita (Argentina) ; common 

 guava, guava (United States) ; guava (English) ; 

 wild guava (British Honduras) ; goyave, goyavier 

 (French) ; goyavier a fruits (Guadeloupe) ; gu- 

 yaba, goeajaaba, guava (Dutch West Indies) ; 

 guave, goejaba (Surinam) ; goiaba, gobiabiera 

 (Brazil). 



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