522 MacCaAuGHEY: GUAVAS OF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 
apiculate, base obtuse or shortly acute; stiff, chartaceous, light 
green, rough or puberulent. The peduncles are erect and three- 
flowered. The flowers are white and fragrant. The fruit is 
abundant; spherical, 2.5 cm. in diameter; the rind is brownish 
green, becoming pale yellow when mature. The flesh is white, 
acid, and inferior in quality and aroma. This species is not 
recommended for planting, as its fruits lack the rich flavor of 
P. Guajava. 
6. THE RED STRAWBERRY GUAVA 
This species, P. Cattleianum Sabine, is also known as the 
Chinese guava, or purple guava. It is a native of Brazil and is 
there called araga de praya. It is one of the hardiest species. 
Within relatively recent years it has been introduced into Florida, 
California, and Hawaii. Like the others, it is a shrub or small 
tree, 5-8 m. high. The bark is smooth and greenish brown; the 
branchlets are glabrous. The leaves are obovate-elliptic, 6-9 cm. 
long, apex acute, base acute to cuneate; thick and leathery, dark 
green, and glossy. Like the wai-awi guave, it is in flower and fruit 
almost continuously throughout the year. The peduncles are 
axillary and one-flowered; the flowers are white and fragrant. 
The calyx-tube is turbinate, four- to five-lobed; the lobes are 
broadly oblong; petals obovate, thin; style slender; stigma 
peltate; ovary four-locular. 
The fruit is spherical or ovate, 2.5-3.5 cm. in diameter; rich © 
dark purplish or claret red when mature. The skin is very thin 
and tender. The flesh is soft, juicy, and melting in texture; it is 
reddish next to the skin and white toward the center. The flavor 
is very fine, acid-sweet, and aromatic, and likened to that of the 
strawberry. It lacks the pungency of P. Guajava. There are 
many small, hard seeds. The sugar content of the guava is not 
high. The strawberry guava contains more acid than the other 
varieties but is less acid to the taste. 
Although very satisfactory for jellies and jams, the strawberry 
guava is too fragile for shipment as fresh fruit. The Hawaii 
. * . . bad 
Station* carried on some cold storage experiments, which were 
summarized as follows: 
* Wilcox, E. V., & Hunn, C. J. Cold storage for tropical fruits. Haw. Agr. 
Exp. Sta. Press Bull. 47. ror1q. 
