Scientific Name : Psidium guajava L.
Common Name : Guava
Chinese Name : 番石榴
Family : MYRTACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species
| Origin | Native to central South America, as in Mexico. |
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| Ecology | Since its fruits are juicy and attractive to birds and other mammals, the species always serves as a framework species in reforestation to revitalize environments. However, it is repulsive in some regions while is classified as an invasive species due to its over-excellent resilience to multiple environments and growth rate. For example, the introduction of guava into the Galapagos Islands intensifies the competition and has comprised the endemic Psidium. sp by depriving their resources. The competition could ultimately drive a number of endemic species to extinction. Species loss is catastrophic and irreversible. Therefore, introducing species for any purposes should be bolstered beyond many cautious and scientific studies. |
| Application | Guava is popular in markets and commonly sold in fruit, juice and jam. There are two advantages favouring its dissemination in the world. First, it shows a short adaptability to variable environments. Second, it provides faster yields than other fruit trees, thereby offering fascinating productivity and income. Compared with the wild guava which the fruits are small and bitter, the cultivated guava is domesticated into fruits that are larger and sweeter, with more abundant in vitamin C and other essential minerals that our body is craving. By these reasons, the tree is now spread throughout the Tropics and the Subtropics. Guava is hard to maintain a decent tree form, yield, and fruit size and shape. To preserve the quality for sale, people tend to grow guavas with 'rootstocks', which are an underground part of plant. After selecting a strong and durable rootstock, the favourable branchlet of a guava cultivar is grown on the rootstock, known as 'scion'. Since there is absence of any mating event, the practice allows the offspring to persist the genetical and phenotypical uniformity as its mother plant. The practice is thus known as 'vegetative reproduction'. |
| Meanings of name | The common name '番' refers to which the plant is introduced or the fruits are imported from foreign countries; '石榴' indicates its comparable fruit shape with pomegranate (Punica granatum, 安石榴). |
| Growing habit | Evergreen tree. |
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| Height | To 13 m. |
| Stem | Bark smooth, brownish yellow, exfoliating in flakes. Young branchlets angular, pubescent. |
| Leaves | Simple leaves opposite. Blade leathery, oblong to elliptic, apex acute to obtuse, base rounded, adaxially rough, abaxially pubescent, midvein impressed adaxially, lateral and netted veins prominent. |
| Flower | Flowers solitary or 2-3 in cymes, axillary. Petals 4 or 5, white. Stamens many, as long as style. |
| Fruit | Berries globose, ovoid, or pyriform, apex with persistent sepals, flesh white or yellow, placenta reddish when mature. |
| Flowering period | August to September in Hong Kong. |
| Fruiting period | August to September in Hong Kong. |
Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website :
https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=3070
Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China : Psidium guajava Linnaeus
— Plants of the World Online : Psidium guajava L.