Psidium guajava

Psidium guajava, the common guava, yellow guava, lemon guava, or apple guava is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Americas. It is pollinated by insects. When cultivated, it is pollinated mainly by the common honey bee, Apis mellifera.

Description

A small tree or shrub 8-10 m high. It is evergreen. It has smooth bark which is mottled. The bark peels off in smooth flakes. The plant branches close to the ground. The branches are four angled. Trees are shallow rooted. The leaves are opposite, dull green and somewhat hairy. They are oval and somewhat pointed at both ends. They are 15 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. The leaves have short leaf stalks. The flowers are white and showy and borne in loose irregular types of arrangements of one to three flowers. The petals are 1.5 to 2 cm long. Both self and cross pollination occurs due to insects. The flowers grow in the axils of leaves on new growth. The fruit are rounded and 4 to 5 cm long. They are green but turn yellow when ripe. The outer covering is firm and encloses a pink or nearly white sweet smelling edible pulp. This contains many seeds. It better selected varieties both the skin and the seeds are fully edible. Fruit vary from very acid to very sweet.

Edible Uses

The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked, with a flavour ranging from sweet to acidic. The flesh is soft and aromatic, very high in vitamin C, and a good source of vitamin A and pectin. It makes an excellent jam and can be pureed for use in a range of desserts. The yellow-skinned fruit may be ovoid or pear-shaped, 4–12cm in diameter, and can weigh up to 500g. An edible oil is extracted from the seeds. In some Asian countries, including Indonesia, the leaves are used in cooking.

Traditional Uses

The young leaves are eaten raw or cooked. The fruit are eaten raw. The fruit can be used for jams and jellies. Half ripe fruit are added to help the jelly set. The liquid from boiled guava seeds is used to flavour cheese. The seeds are the source of an edible oil. The roots can be used for soup.

Medicinal Uses

A plant decoction is antispasmodic, astringent, febrifuge, and vulnerary. Guava exhibits antibacterial action against intestinal pathogens such as Staphylococcus. All parts of the young fruit are astringent. Dried ripe fruits are recommended for dysentery, while leaves and fruits are used to treat diarrhoea. The ripe fresh fruit is eaten as a remedy for constipation. Water in which the fruit has been soaked is used to treat diabetes. Clear fruit juice has been recommended for hepatitis, gonorrhoea, and diarrhoea. Seed oil contains bisabolene and flavonoids with anti-inflammatory properties. Leaf compounds have shown antidiabetic activity. Leaves are used to treat diarrhoea, coughs, stomach ache, and dysentery, and when pounded and squeezed in salt water, the solution is used for toothaches. A decoction of the leaves or bark is applied externally as a lotion for skin complaints, ringworm, wounds, and ulcers. The bark, combined with roots of Achyranthes aspera and Urena lobata, is used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It is native to C and S America. Guavas thrive in both humid and dry tropical climates. They do best in sunny positions. They grow wild and are also cultivated. In Papua New Guinea it grows well from sea level up to 1600 m and occurs up to 1900 m. In Nepal it grows up to 1400 m altitude. It is killed by frost. They fruit better where there is a cooler season. Temperatures near 30°C give best production. They are very widely distributed in open places and secondary forests throughout the islands of the Philippines and Papua New Guinea and can become weedy under some conditions. They produce better in soils with good organic matter. They prefer a well drained soil but can stand some water-logging. A pH of 5 to 7 is suitable. It can tolerate a pH from 4.6-8.9. Trees cannot tolerate salty conditions. It does not do well on atolls. It can grow in arid places. An annual rainfall between 1,000-2,000 mm is best. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa. It suits hardiness zones 9-12. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, Algeria, Amazon, American Samoa, Andamans, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bougainville, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Central America*, China, Christmas Island, Chuuk, Colombia, Congo DR, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Easter Island, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe, Fiji, French Guiana, FSM, Gabon, Galapagos, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Hispaniola, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosrae, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mariana Islands, Marquesas, Martinique, Mauritania, Mediterranean, Mexico, Micronesia, Middle East, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Puerto Rico, Rotuma, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sikkim, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, St Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, West Africa, West Indies, West Timor, Yap, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

They are mostly grown from seeds but seedling trees vary in quality. Seeds remain viable for a year or longer. Seeds germinate in 2-3 weeks but can take 8 weeks. Selected trees can be propagated by budding or grafting. They can also be propagated by layering, root cuttings or stem cuttings if hormones are used. For stem cuttings the tips are used and grown under mist at 28-30°C with bottom heat. Suckers can also be used. Using vegetative methods of propagation enables better fruit kinds to be preserved. In the lowland tropics trees are self sown. As fruit are produced on new season's growth, pruning does not affect fruiting greatly. Trees should be managed to give the maximum number of new vigorous new shoots. Trees can be pruned for shape. Trees can be grown at 2.5 m within rows and 6 m apart between rows. It does not grow or produce well on atolls.

Propagation

Seed is very easy to germinate and plants will often self-sow freely. Seedlings tend to come true to their parents and can fruit within 3 years of germinating. Seed can be sown in beds, pots, or directly in the field at a depth of 1cm; germination occurs within 15–20 days. Seedlings should be planted out when about 25cm tall. Air-layering, cuttings, and grafting are also viable methods.

Other Uses

Guava is an excellent pioneer species for permaculture and woodland garden establishment, thriving in full sun and readily self-establishing in pastures. It can serve as a shade tree and provides ground cover; fallen leaves improve soil fertility and attract beneficial insects. The plant has been identified as a bio-indicator and bio-accumulator in India and is sensitive to sulphur dioxide. Leaves and bark can be used for dyeing and tanning; leaves pounded with coconut milk and other substances produce a dye that turns silk black. The leaves yield an essential oil containing methylchavicol, persein, and d-pinene. The plant has insecticidal properties. The heartwood is brown or reddish, the sapwood light brown; the wood is hard, moderately heavy, strong, very elastic, and moderately durable, used for tool handles, fence posts, carpentry, and turnery. It makes excellent firewood and charcoal. Fruit provides food for birds, mammals, and insects; dense foliage offers shelter, nesting, and roosting for wildlife; leaf litter supports soil organisms and beneficial invertebrates.

Production

Seedling trees may begin to bear 2-3 years after transplanting. Pruning back the tips slightly increases fruit production. Fruit taste best if ripened on the tree. Ripening can be hastened by placing them in a brown paper bag with a banana or apple. Mature fruit which have not changed colour can be stored 2-5 weeks at temperatures of 8-10°C and relative humidity of 85-95%. Mature fruit ripen in 2-3 days at normal temperatures and will keep for 7 days.

Other Information

The trees are widely spread throughout the country and fruit are popular particularly with children. Trees mostly grow naturally in coastal areas. It is widely cultivated.

Notes

Plants can become feral and invasive in some locations mainly in the Pacific. There are about 150 Psidium species. Fruit are high in folates 46μg/100.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Amapeera, Amba, Ambak, Amrood, Amrut, Araca, Arasa, Araza, Baghanse, Bak sidaa noi, Balabas, Banjirou, Bayabas, Bayawas, Belauti, Emagwava, Ewe goba, Fan shi liu gan, Farang, Feyru, Fulunta, Gbaadagnu, Gnangaou, Goavy, Goba, Goiaba, Goavibe, Goyave, Goyavier, Goybe, Guajaba, Guajabo, Guajavenbaum, Guayaba blanca, Guayabo, Gujaba, Guyaba, Gwaba, Jambu batu, Jambu berasa, Jambu biabas, Jambu bidji ketjil, Jambu biji, Jambu biyawas, Jambu klutuk, Jambu kreh, Jambu leutik, Jambu makan, Jambu padang, Jambu orsik, Jambu paraweh, Jambu tjina, Kambu merabas, Kattukoyya, Koejawel, Kok sida, Koyya, Kru, Kuafa, Kuahpa, Kuava, Kuawa, Kuhfahfah, Kwaba, Libas, Ligwava, Lipela, Madhurium, Mai-mak-ka, Mak sida, Malaka, Maling-ga, Mapela, Mapun, Mar-la-kar, Mguwa, Modhori, Mongaba, Mpera, Mubera, Mugiaba, Mugwavha, Mupeera, Mupotimu, Ngimon, Nima, Oi, Paheda, Pera, Piyara, Pohon jambu biji, Pondol, Quwawa, Ribas, Sahuintu, Saprium, Sengoyya, Seytuun, Sikra, Sophre, Tamlanai, Te kuao, Te kuawa, Txiv cuab thoj, Vigesigesi, Vimete, Yam anseeta, Yanganboun

References (236)

• AAK, 1980, Bertanam Pohon Buah-buahan. Penerbitan Yayasan Kanisius, Jogyakarta. p 22
• Acharya K. P. and Acharya, R., 2010, Eating from the Wild: Indigenous knowledge on wild edible plants in Parroha VDC of Rupandehi District, Central Nepal. International Journal of Social Forestry. 3(1):28-48
• Agbahoungba, S., et al, 2016, Ecological diversity and conservation of wild edible fruit trees species in the Lama Forest Reserve in Benin. Bois et Forets des Tropiques 2016, No. 329(3)
• Aiguo, C. & Zhiling, D., 2001, Managing Agricultural Resources for Biodiversity Conservation. Case Study Yunnan, Southwest China. Environment Liaison Center International. p 44
• Alexander, D.M., Scholefield, P.B., Frodsham, A., 1982, Some tree fruits for tropical Australia. CSIRO, Australia. p 23

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