Herb. No. 234 · Myrtaceae
Tropical American origin; a backyard fruit from India to Hawaii to Florida.
Native · Mexico & Central America · South America
Native Also grown
LegalGentleplant
Guava
Psidium guajava
A tropical myrtle fruit that smells like someone opened a perfume in a fruit stand — pink or white flesh, seedy, and a jelly classic.
Guava is a Central American myrtle, now a pan-tropical backyard tree. Traditional use is as ripe fruit, juice, and a stiff jelly (the pectin is real). Culinary fruit is the path. The leaf has a separate anti-diarrheal folklore; this plate is the fruit. Fruit flies love it. A ripe guava yields and the room knows.
Flavor
Strawberry-tropical, musk, lots of hard seeds. Pink is louder; white is milder.
Parts used
Ripe fruit
Helpful
- A small tree that fruits young
- Pectin for jelly
Cautions
- Fruit fly
- Seeds are work
- A frost takes it