C 315 ] 



XLVII. Account of a New Psidium. In a Letter to the 

 Secretary. By William Cattley, Esq. F.H.S. 



Read October 3, 1820. 



Dear Sin, 



I had the pleasure, on the 5th of September, to send you, 

 for the inspection of the Horticultural Society, specimens of 

 the fruit of a plant now growing in my Conservatory at Bar- 

 net; it was purchased two years ago from Messrs. Bar r 

 and Brookes of Ball's Pond, Newington, who raised it from 

 seed, which they received from China. 



It appears to be an undescribed species of Guava, allied to 

 Psidium montanum, from which it differs, as it does from 

 the rest of the genus, in having coriaceous obovate leaves, 

 and particularly in the much greater size of the fruit. This 

 is nearly spherical, of a fine deep claret colour, growing in 

 the axillae of the leaves, and contains from twenty to thirty 

 seeds immersed in a sweet pulp which has a slight acidity. 



In 1819 two crops were produced, one of which was ripe 

 in the autumn, and the other at Christmas. The plant is now 

 loaded with fruit, and from the profusion of blossoms already 

 formed, I may venture to predict an abundant crop next 

 Christmas also. 



To the cultivators of tropical fruit trees, this plant will cer- 

 tainly prove an interesting acquisition ; for, independent of 

 the beautiful effect of the fruit, the plant is highly ornamental 



