Guava

guava (gwä`və), small evergreen tree or shrub of the genus Psidium of the family Myrtaceae (myrtle family), native to tropical America and grown elsewhere for its ornamental flowers and edible fruit. The fruit (a fleshy berry with many hard seeds) of the common tropical guava (P. guajava) is shaped like an apple or a pear and has white, pink, or red flesh (depending on the variety) with a sweet, musky flavor and, usually, a yellow rind. The strawberry guava (P. cattleyanum), native to Brazil, bears a red fruit with a rough rind and reddish pulp, supposedly strawberrylike in flavor. At the time of the Spanish explorations the guava was found from Peru to Mexico; in the United States it is now grown commercially in Florida and California, where it has also escaped cultivation and become naturalized. Much of the perishable fruit is made into jellies, beverages, and similar products. It is a rich source of minerals and of vitamins A and C. Guava is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Myrtales, family Myrtaceae.

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guava

Any of many trees and shrubs of the genus Psidium (myrtle family), native to the New World tropics. The two important species are common guava (P. guajava) and cattley, or strawberry, guava (P. littorale or P. cattleianum). The sweet pulp of the common guava fruit has a musky, sometimes pungent odour. The pulp of the strawberry guava fruit has a strawberry-like flavour. Guavas are processed into jams, jellies, and preserves. Fresh guavas are rich in vitamins A, B, and C; they are eaten raw or sliced and are served as desserts.

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guava

1. any of various tropical American trees of the myrtaceous genus Psidium, esp P. guajava, grown in tropical regions for their edible fruit

2. the fruit of such a tree, having yellow skin and pink pulp: used to make jellies, jams, etc.

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guava [′gwäv·ə]

(botany)

Psidium guajava.A shrub or low tree of tropical America belonging to the family Myrtaceae; produces an edible, aromatic, sweet, juicy berry.

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Guava 

(Psidium guajava), an evergreen tree of the family Myrtaceae, usually 4–5 m tall (sometimes up to 10 m). It grows wild in tropical America and is grown in all tropical countries. The sour-sweet, aromatic, juicy fruit of the guava has great nutritional value, containing up to 11 percent sugar, about 0.7 percent fat, and about 0.7 percent protein. There are many cultivated varieties of guava. In the USSR there are guava trees in planting collections along the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus.

REFERENCE

Siniagin, I. I. Tropicheskoe zemledelie. Moscow, 1968.