FRUITS OF THE MYRTLE FAMILY 



273 



The first account of the guava was written in 1526 by Gonzalo 

 Hernandez de Oviedo, and published in his " Natural History 

 of the Indies." Oviedo says : 



"The guayabo is a handsome tree, with a leaf like that of 

 the mulberry, but smaller, and the flowers are fragrant, espe- 

 cially those of a cer- 

 tain kind of these 

 guayabos; it bears an 

 apple more substantial 

 than those of Spain, 

 and of greater weight 

 even when of the same 

 size, and it contains 

 many seeds, or more 

 properly speaking, it is 

 full of small hard stones, 

 and to those who are 

 not used to eating the 

 fruit these stones are 

 sometimes trouble- 

 some; but to those 

 familiar with it, the 

 fruit is beautiful and 

 appetizing, and some 

 are red within, others 

 white ; and I have seen 

 the best ones in the 

 Isthmus of Darien and 

 nearby on the main- 



Fio. 35. The common guava of the tropics 

 (Psidium Guajava), an American plant which has 

 become naturalized in southern Asia and else- 

 where. (X |) 



land ; those of the islands are not so good, and persons who are 

 accustomed to it esteem it as a very good fruit, much better 

 than the apple." 



The guava is an arborescent shrub or small tree, sometimes 

 growing to 25 or 30 feet. The trunk is slender, with greenish- 



