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{{SPlantbox
| name = ''Psidium''
|familia=Myrtaceae
| common_names = Guava, Tropical Guava
|genus=Psidium
| growth_habit = evergreen shrubs/small trees{{SSN}}
|common_name=Guava, Tropical Guava
|habit=shrub
|origin=Mexico, C America
| origin = Mexico thru C America
|lifespan=perennial
|exposure=sun
| lifespan = <!--- perennial, annual, etc -->
|sun_ref=Sunset National Garden Book
| exposure = full sun, high-shade{{SSN}}
|water=moderate
| water = moderate{{SSN}}
|water_ref=Sunset National Garden Book
| features = fruit{{SSN}}
|features=edible, fruit
| hardiness = <!--- frost sensitive, hardy, 5°C (40°F), etc -->
|Temp Metric=°F
| bloom = <!--- seasons which the plant blooms, if it is grown for its flowers -->
|sunset_zones=varies by species
| usda_zones = ? <!--- eg. 8-11 -->
|jumpin=If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!
| sunset_zones = varies by species{{SSN}}
|image=Psidium guajava.jpg
| color = IndianRed
|image_width=240
| image = Psidium guajava.jpg
|image_caption=Apple Guava ''Psidium guajava''
| image_width = 240px <!--- leave as 240px if horizontal orientation photo, or change to 180px if vertical -->
| image_caption = Apple Guava ''Psidium guajava'' <br/>fruit and leaves
}}
}}
'''Adaptation''': The tropical guava is best adapted to the warm climate of Florida and Hawaii, although it can be grown in coastal Southern California, and with some protection, selected areas north to Mendocino County. Guavas actually thrive in both humid and dry climates, but can survive only a few degrees of frost. The tree will recover from a brief exposure to 29° F but may be completely defoliated. Young trees are particularly sensitive to cold spells. Older trees, killed to the ground, have sent up new shoots which fruited 2 years later. Guavas can take considerable neglect, withstanding temporary waterlogging and very high temperatures. They tend to bear fruit better in areas with a definite winter or cooler season. The adaptability of the guava makes it a serious weed tree in some tropical areas. The smaller guava cultivars can make an excellent container specimen.
'''Adaptation''': The tropical guava is best adapted to the warm climate of Florida and Hawaii, although it can be grown in coastal Southern California, and with some protection, selected areas north to Mendocino County. Guavas actually thrive in both humid and dry climates, but can survive only a few degrees of frost. The tree will recover from a brief exposure to 29° F but may be completely defoliated. Young trees are particularly sensitive to cold spells. Older trees, killed to the ground, have sent up new shoots which fruited 2 years later. Guavas can take considerable neglect, withstanding temporary waterlogging and very high temperatures. They tend to bear fruit better in areas with a definite winter or cooler season. The adaptability of the guava makes it a serious weed tree in some tropical areas. The smaller guava cultivars can make an excellent container specimen.
'''Fruits''': Guava fruits may be round, ovoid or pear-shaped, 2 - 4 inches long, and have 4 or 5 protruding floral remnants (sepals) at the apex. Varieties differ widely in flavor and seediness. The better varieties are soft when ripe, creamy in texture with a rind that softens to be fully edible. The flesh may be white, pink, yellow, or red. The sweet, musky odor is pungent and penetrating. The seeds are numerous but small and, in good varieties, fully edible. Actual seed counts have ranged from 112 to 535. The quality of the fruit of guavas grown in cooler areas is often disappointing.
'''Fruits''': Guava fruits may be round, ovoid or pear-shaped, 2 - 4 inches long, and have 4 or 5 protruding floral remnants (sepals) at the apex. Varieties differ widely in flavor and seediness. The better varieties are soft when ripe, creamy in texture with a rind that softens to be fully edible. The flesh may be white, pink, yellow, or red. The sweet, musky odor is pungent and penetrating. The seeds are numerous but small and, in good varieties, fully edible. Actual seed counts have ranged from 112 to 535. The quality of the fruit of guavas grown in cooler areas is often disappointing.
{{Inc|
Guava. The name guava is applied to the fruit of various species of Psidium, frequently with the addition of a qualifying word such as apple, pear, Cattley, to distinguish different species and varieties. In Spanish it is guayaba, in Portuguese goiaba. and in French goyave (the plant goyavier). In Brazil the name araca, with qualifying words, is applied to a number of wild species.
The common guava of the tropics is Psidium guajava, Linn., of which there are numerous varieties. Although the native home of this species is in tropical America, it is now widely distributed throughout the warmest regions of the globe. Under favorable conditions it becomes a tree 25 to 30 feet in height; its bark is smooth, greenish brown in color, while the leaves are opposite, oval, smooth, light green, the veins depressed above and prominent below. The flowers, which are produced in the axils of the leaves, are about an inch in diameter, with four incurved white petals and a large tuft of white stamens tipped with yellowish anthers.
The fruit varies in shape from spherical to pyrifonn, and in diameter from 1 to 4 inches. Commonly it is oval or slightly pyrifonn, and about 2 inches in diameter. The thin light yellow skin surrounds a layer of finely granular pulp, inside of which is a mass of softer pulp in which the small hard seeds are embedded. The color of the flesh varies from white through shades of salmon to deep pink, according to the variety; its flavor when fully ripe is sweet or slightly acid, and nearly always somewhat musky. The aroma is characteristic and rather penetrating; while objectionable to some persons it is very agreeable to others.
The fruit is eaten in many ways,—out of hand, sliced with cream, stewed, preserved, and in shortcakes and pies, but it is most highly valued for the manufacture of jams and jellies. In several tropical countries the manufacture of guava jelly forms quite an important industry. When well made, it is deep wine color, clear, of very firm consistency, and retains something of the peculiar musky flavor which characterizes the fruit, and which gives guava jelly an individuality which is its greatest asset. In Brazil a thick jam, known as goiabada, is made from the fruit and sold in large quantities throughout the country. A similar product is manufactured in the West Indies and Florida under the name of guava cheese.
The plant is cultivated to a limited extent in southern California, where it is frequently listed under the name of lemon guava. It is too tender for the colder sections of the state. In Florida it is not only cultivated in gardens, but is found in a semi-naturalized condition in some sections and has become a pest. The same is true in many other regions; the plant grows so readily from seed that it is sometimes difficult to prevent its spreading to places where it is not desired when the seeds are scattered by birds or other agencies.
The Cattley or strawberry guava, P. Cattleianum, Fig. 1769, is also a well-known fruit in this country. In Califprnia it is widely cultivated because of its superior hardiness, withstanding temperatures as low as 22° F. without injury. It does not grow to such large size as P. Guajava, but under favorable conditions forms an arborescent shrub 15 to 20 feet in height. Unlike P. guajava, its leaves are thick, leathery, and somewhat glossy, in size rarely over 2 ½ inches in length and in form obovate-elliptical. The fruit, which is usually produced in great abundance, is broadly pyriform to spherical, 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter. The skin is deep purplish maroon, the flesh translucent yellowish white, very soft and melting in texture. The seeds are rather numerous, irregularly oval in form. The flavor lacks the pungency of P. Guajava, and a resemblance, real or imagined, to that of the strawberry has suggested the common name of "strawberry guava." Jelly made from this fruit, while lacking the pronounced flavor of that made from P. Guajava, is nevertheless highly esteemed in California, most of the fruit being utilized for jelly-making.
While rather slow in growth, the plant frequently begins to bear fruit the second or third year from the seed. A horticultural form of this species, P. Cattleianum lucidum, generally listed by the trade as P. lucidum, is grown both in Florida and California, though not so extensively as P. Cattleianum itself. The chief difference between this form and the type lies in the color of the fruit, which in place of maroon is deep sulfur-yellow. The flavor, if anything, is a little milder and less pungent. It is a meritorious form, worthy of wider cultivation.
The "pineapple guava," of California, is Feijoa Sellowiana, a South American myrtaceous fruit not properly called a guava, perhaps, but so closely resembling some of the guavas in growth and fruit as to suggest this name. See Feijoa. Several other species of Psidium are grown in this country to a limited extent, some of them having been recently introduced. Tropical America is rich in species of Psidium, Brazil alone possessing a large number of economic value. Most of these are still in the wild state and capable of vast improvement by selection and breeding.
The culture of the guavas presents few difficulties. Nearly all species succeed on a variety of soils, requiring only that good drainage be provided. While propagation is nearly always by seed, some vegetative method must be used to perpetuate desirable varieties. This is especially important with P. Guajava, in which there is more variation than in P. Cattleianum, and desirable forms do not come true from seed. Grafting has been successfully performed but never widely practised. In California, budding has been quite successful, with large stocks an inch or more in diameter and square or oblong patch buds about 1 ½ inches in length. This method, however, does not seem very suitable for commercial use. Shield-budding has been successful in a few instances, the operation being performed as with citrus, and it is this method which probably offers the greatest advantages. Propagation by cuttings is also possible, when half-ripened wood is used and bottom heat is available. All these methods have been practised to a very limited extent, seed- propagation being practically the only method used in most tropical countries. Seeds retain their vitality for some time, but should be planted as fresh as possible, using a light sandy loam and taking care to avoid over-watering when the young plants appear. When the second leaves have formed, the plants should be potted off and carried along in pots until they are transplanted into permanent positions, since they are somewhat difficult to transplant from the open ground. Planting should be done in late spring.
In California P. guajava frequently suffers from the attacks of the black scale (Saissetia oleae), which must be kept in check by fumigation or spraying. In other countries this plant seems remarkably free from insect pests or fungous diseases, and this is true also of the Cattley guava. The fruits are sometimes injured by the Mediterranean fruit-fly, and a scab has been observed in Brazil which affects them prejudicially. As a rule, however, the plants require little attention.
{{SCH}} }}
{{Inc|
Psidium (Greek, psidion, the pomegranate). Myrtaceae. A large group of tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs, all native to America, many of which produce edible fruits. The common guava of the tropics, P. Guajava, is the best known. It has become naturalized in many parts of Asia and Africa. See Guava.
Leaves opposite, petiolate, glabrous, pubescent or tomentose, pinnately veined: fls. usually rather large, whitish, on axillary or lateral 1-3- (rarely many-) fld. peduncles; calyx-tube urceolate or pyriform, lobes 4-5. persistent; calyx sometimes closed before anthesis and splitting irregularly into 2-5 lobes; petals 4 or 5, spreading; stamens numerous, disposed in many series and inserted upon the disk, filaments filiform, anthers oblong or linear, basifixed, longitudinally dehiscent; ovary with 2-7, commonly 4, locules, the style slender, stigma peltate or subcapitate: fr. a berry, ovoid, globose or pyriform, commonly 1-3 in. long, yellow to red in color, sometimes green, crowned with the calyx- limb; seeds few to numerous, small, hard.—About 150 species. The genus is somewhat confused and in need of further study. A large number of species doubtless exist in S and Cent. Amer., which have not as yet been described. The genus is allied to the myrtles (Myrtus), the pomegranate (Punica), and the various Eugenias, of which a number are cult, in the tropics for their frs. The following treatment includes the principal ones known to horticulture.
A species intro. by Franceechi under the name of P. acre. Ten., resembles P. Cattleianum var. lucidum, but has more elongated and usually larger frs. The foliage is of the same type.—P. dichotomum, Weinm., is properly P. Araca: a species intro. by Franceschi as this species is evidently something else, having broad coriaceous, glabrous lye. and somewhat resembling P. Cattleianum in habit.— P. guayabita, A. Rich., is a species recently intro. from W. Cuba, where it grows wild: the frs. are small and not considered very valuable.—P. guianense, Pers., is a synonym of P. fluviatile, Rich., a species with branchlets terete, glabrous: lvs. oval, glabrous: pedicels opposite, 1-fld. Cayenne.—P. guineense, Swartz, is a synonym of P. Araca, Raddi, according to Berg, but DeCandolle considers it a distinct species. He distinguishes it from P. Araca by the lvs. less soft, glabrous above, with the nervation not raised as in the latter. More recently Urban uses it in preference to P. Araca, which latter is made a synonym; he states that it resembles P. Guajava, but is easily distinguished by the less numerous transverse veins, not impressed above. Swartz, in describing P. guineense, stated that it came from Afr., and was cult, in Santo Domingo, but as all psidiums are now known to be American, he was doubtless mistaken regarding its origin.—P. littorale, Raddi, intro. by Franceschi, resembles P. Cattleianum very closely, but has lvs. somewhat more attenuate toward the base, and obovate or pyriform frs. Berg (in Linnaea, xxvii) groups this species, P. Cattleianum and P. humile together under the name of P. variabile. S. Brazil.—P. montanum, Swartz, is a species from the mountains of Jamaica, with 4-angled branchlets: lvs. oblong-oval, acuminate, glabrous: peduncles many-fld.: fr. subrotund.
}}
==Cultivation==
==Cultivation==
[[Image:Psidium cattleianum.jpg|thumb|Strawberry Guava ''Psidium cattleianum'']]
[[Image:Psidium cattleianum.jpg|thumb|Strawberry Guava ''Psidium cattleianum'']]
* ''[[Psidium australe]]'' <small>[[Cambess.]]</small>
* ''[[Psidium australe]]'' <small>[[Cambess.]]</small>
* ''[[Psidium cinereum]]''
* ''[[Psidium cinereum]]''
* ''[[Psidium dumetorum]]'' – [[Jamaican Guava]] ([[extinct]]: late 1970s)
* ''[[Psidium dumetorum]]'' – [[Jamaican Guava]] ([[extinct]]: late 1970s)
* ''[[Psidium firmum]]'' <small>[[Otto Karl Berg|O.Berg]]</small>
* ''[[Psidium firmum]]'' <small>[[Otto Karl Berg|O.Berg]]</small>
* ''[[Psidium friedrichsthalium]]'' – [[Cas Guava]], [[Costa Rica Guava]], ''"[[arrayán]]"'' ([[El Salvador]])
* ''[[Psidium friedrichsthalium]]'' – [[Cas Guava]], [[Costa Rica Guava]], ''"[[arrayán]]"'' ([[El Salvador]])
* ''[[Psidium galapageium]]'' – [[Galápagos Guava]]
* ''[[Psidium galapageium]]'' – [[Galápagos Guava]]
* ''[[Psidium guajava]]'' – [[Apple Guava]], Common Guava
* ''[[Psidium guajava]]'' – [[Apple Guava]], Common Guava
* ''[[Psidium guineense]]'' <small>Sw.</small> – [[Guinea Guava]]<!-- OrnitolColomb3:7. -->
* ''[[Psidium guineense]]'' <small>Sw.</small> – [[Guinea Guava]]<!-- OrnitolColomb3:7. -->
* ''[[Psidium harrisianum]]''
* ''[[Psidium harrisianum]]''
* ''[[Psidium havanense]]''
* ''[[Psidium havanense]]''
* ''[[Psidium incanescens]]'' <small>[[Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius|Mart.]]</small>
* ''[[Psidium incanescens]]'' <small>[[Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius|Mart.]]</small>
{{col-2-of-2}}
{{col-2-of-2}}
* ''[[Psidium littorale]]'' – [[Cattley Guava]], Peruvian Guava, ''"[[arazá]]"'' ([[Colombia]]), "Chinese guava" (as [[invasive species]])
* ''[[Psidium littorale]]'' – [[Cattley Guava]], Peruvian Guava, ''"[[arazá]]"'' ([[Colombia]]), "Chinese guava" (as [[invasive species]])
** ''Psidium littorale'' var. ''cattleianum'' – Strawberry Guava
** ''Psidium littorale'' var. ''cattleianum'' – Strawberry Guava
** ''Psidium littorale'' var. ''littorale'' – Lemon Guava, ''waiawī'' ([[Hawaiian language|Hawaiʻi]])
** ''Psidium littorale'' var. ''littorale'' – Lemon Guava, ''waiawī'' ([[Hawaiian language|Hawaiʻi]])
* ''[[Psidium montanum]]'' – [[Mountain Guava]]
* ''[[Psidium montanum]]'' – [[Mountain Guava]]
* ''[[Psidium pedicellatum]]''
* ''[[Psidium pedicellatum]]''
* ''[[Psidium robustum]]'' <small>O.Berg</small>
* ''[[Psidium robustum]]'' <small>O.Berg</small>
* ''[[Psidium rostratum]]''
* ''[[Psidium rostratum]]''
* ''[[Psidium sartorianum]]'' – [[Sartre Guava]], ''"[[arrayán]]"'' ([[Mexico]]), ''[[guyabita del Peru]]'' ([[Panama]], [[Costa Rica]])
* ''[[Psidium sartorianum]]'' – [[Sartre Guava]], ''"[[arrayán]]"'' ([[Mexico]]), ''[[guyabita del Peru]]'' ([[Panama]], [[Costa Rica]])
* ''[[Psidium sintenisii]]'' – ''[[hoja menuda]]''
* ''[[Psidium sintenisii]]'' – ''[[hoja menuda]]''
* ''[[Psidium socorrense]]''
* ''[[Psidium socorrense]]''
* ''[[Psidium spathulatum]]'' <small>Mattos</small>
* ''[[Psidium spathulatum]]'' <small>Mattos</small>
*{{wplink}}
*{{wplink}}
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