Scientific Name : Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. littorale (Raddi) Mattos
Common Name : Strawberry Guava
Chinese Name : 草莓番石榴
Family : MYRTACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species
| Origin | Brazil and Uruguay. |
|---|---|
| Application | Strawberry Guava is valued for its delicious and juicy fruits. The fruit can be eaten fresh and is wholesome with abundant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant elements for which our body are craving. Apart from that, the fruit can be processed into juice, jams and artisanal sweets. |
| Meaning of names | The specific epithet cattleiyanum commemorates William Cattley (1788-1835), a British horticulturist who devoted his entire life in plant collection and cultivation of orchids. The tree is also named as ‘Strawberry Guava’ in respect of its mature fruits that tastes like guava and are covered by strawberry-coloured exocarp. |
| Invasive Species |
Strawberry Guava has been spread and naturalized in the world for ornamental and agricultural purposes. By virtue of its fast growing, exceptionally unsurpassed tolerance to multiple environments and high productivity, the tree is aggressively competitive and can rule the environments by storm. Comparable with other invasive species, Strawberry Guava initially dominates the understory of forest; following the intractable expansion of the population, the tree ultimately attain the upper canopy. They carpet the forest and inhibits the resilience of native species which are susceptible to shade, thereby resulting in biodiversity loss. Knowing that the tree can reproduce through rhizomes, it can establish a population within a short time and sweep the land rampantly, like a raging inferno. In respect of its invasiveness, the tree has been rated as one of the 100 of the World’s Worst Alien Species by International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). The invasive cases are reported worldwide, from Indian Ocean islands to Pacific Islands and the USA. |
| Growing habit | Evergreen or deciduous tree. |
|---|---|
| Height | To 12 m. |
| Stem | Bark smooth, peeling off in flakes, yellowish-brown. |
| Leaves | Simple leaves opposite, glabrous, thick coriaceous, abaxially dark green and glossy, blade elliptic, base cuneate, apex acute or obtuse, entire, midvein prominent at the base, lateral veins inconspicuous. Petioles short. |
| Flowers | Hermaphroditic. Flowers axillary, solitary, seldomly 2-3 clustered. sepals 4-5, green, petals 4-5, white, stamens many. |
| Fruits | Berries globose to ovoid, persistent calyx at the tip, turning green to yellow or purplish-red when mature. |
| Flowering period | May to December in Hong Kong. |
| Fruiting period | December to February in Hong Kong. |
Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website: https://herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=3071
Scientific names from other databases:
― Plants of the World Online : Psidium cattleyanum Sabine