Type: guava is a fruit tree while passion fruit is a vine fruit. Varieties: common varieties of guava include Apple guava, lemon guava, pineapple guava, wild guava, common guava, Mexican white guava, red Indian, and more. You can learn more about guava varieties here.
What kind of fruit is guava?
Guava ( / ˈɡwɑːvə /) [1] is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. [2] The common guava Psidium guajava (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae ), native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. [2]
Where does guava grow in the world?
Large amounts of the guava fruit are produced in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico. The fruit is commonly eaten fresh or made into beverages, jams, and other foods. The fruit, leaf, and fruit juice are used as medicine.
What is the shape of a guava flower?
The flowers of guava plants are usually group from 1 to 4with numerous stamens. These many stamens are arranged on a width disk. The fruits are normally oval or round and range in size from 1 to 3cm in diameter. It is believed to be a tropical and non tropical fruit.
Do guavas have carotenoids?
Guava leaves contain both carotenoids and polyphenols like (+)-gallocatechin and leucocyanidin. As some of these phytochemicals produce the fruit skin and flesh color, guavas that are red-orange tend to have more polyphenol and carotenoid content than yellow-green ones.
See more
Do guavas grow on vines?
The guava fruit grows on a small tree with a wide, short canopy and a sturdy single- to multi-stemmed trunk. The guava tree is an interesting plant with mottled greenish bark and long 3- to 7-inch (7.5 to 18 cm.) serrated leaves. Guava trees produce white, 1-inch (2.5 cm.)
What is a guava classified as?
DicotyledonsCommon guava / ClassMagnoliopsida is a valid botanical name for a class of flowering plants. By definition the class will include the family Magnoliaceae, but its circumscription can otherwise vary, being more inclusive or less inclusive depending upon the classification system being discussed. Wikipedia
Is pineapple guava a vine or tree?
Pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) is an attractive, evergreen tree or shrub with many landscape uses. It's ideal for warm, western climates and well suited to home gardens. The plant grows 12 to 15 feet (3.5-4.5 m.) tall and wide.
Is a guava tree a fruit tree?
The guava tree (Psidium guajava 'Ruby Supreme') is a tropical tree commonly found in areas like Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, Texas and Florida. The deliciously sweet fruit is commonly used in beverages, desserts and smoothies. The fast growing tree can mature to a height of 10 feet tall and roughly 15 feet wide.
Can dogs eat guava?
Yes, dogs can eat guava in small portions as an occasional treat. The fruit offers several health benefits, but if eaten in excess, the high amount of sugar can lead to weight gain. Dog owners can offer their pets many types of guava, including apple guava, white guava, pineapple guava, red guava, and Thai guava.
Is guava good for diabetes?
Guava fruit without peel is more effective in lowering blood sugar as well as serum total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDLc. It increases HDLc levels also.
What is the difference between guava and pineapple guava?
The main difference between guava trees lies within their fruit, which has flesh that ranges in color from red to white. There are even several varieties of fruit, such as pineapple guava, that share the common name guava that aren't true guavas despite their similar appearance.
How tall is a guava tree?
Remember guava trees can grow to 20 ft (6.1 m) in height if not pruned to contain their size.
Are guava trees messy?
Feijoa sellowiana trees can produce immense amounts of fruit. It is best to be prepared for all of this fruit as squished fruit can be messy and difficult to keep clean when the Pineapple Guava hangs over walkways.
Is guava a shrub or tree?
guava, (Psidium guajava), small tropical tree or shrub of the family Myrtaceae, cultivated for its edible fruits. Guava trees are native to tropical America and are grown in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide.
Why was guava tree not pulled out?
Answer: The sweet nectar of the guava plant is a special sort of reward for a job well done in the garden, but without its inch-wide (2.5 cm.) flowers, fruiting will never happen.
Is eating guava good for health?
Guava is loaded with nutrients. Not only does it have more Vitamin C than oranges, guava is also rich in other antioxidants, and has been shown to have a number of great health benefits. Here are just a few of the benefits of eating this tropical fruit. One of the key nutrients found in guava is fiber.
Is guava a citrus?
Guava is one of the best fruits to choose from. It is a non-citrus fruit that is loaded with vitamin C. Guava is also loaded with other essential nutrients. It can help you boost heart health and immunity.
Is guava a fruit?
guava, (Psidium guajava), small tropical tree or shrub of the family Myrtaceae, cultivated for its edible fruits. Guava trees are native to tropical America and are grown in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. Guava fruits are processed into jams, jellies, and preserves and are common pastry fillings.
Is eating guava good for health?
Guava is loaded with nutrients. Not only does it have more Vitamin C than oranges, guava is also rich in other antioxidants, and has been shown to have a number of great health benefits. Here are just a few of the benefits of eating this tropical fruit. One of the key nutrients found in guava is fiber.
What division phylum does guava belong?
Data Quality Indicators:SuperdivisionEmbryophytaDivisionTracheophyta – vascular plants, tracheophytesSubdivisionSpermatophytina – spermatophytes, seed plants, phanérogamesClassMagnoliopsidaSuperorderRosanae9 more rows
What is the name of the guava plant?
The typical guava is the Psidium guajava. This plant has been in cultivation so long, it's not exactly known where it originated, and in the intervening centuries, dozens of named cultivars have been introduced. Named cultivars include 'Redland', named for a growing region in South Florida, 'Supreme', with white flesh, and 'Ruby', with light pink flesh.
What is a guava tree?
Guava is a shrub or small tree with a single or multi-stemmed trunk. It has mottled green bark and long, 3- to 7-inch serrated leaves that sit atop a wide, short canopy. The white flowers produce oval or pear-shaped fruits 2 to 5 inches in size. The taste and color of the fruit differ based on the variety.
How to propagate guavas from cuttings?
In addition to growing from seed, guavas can be propagated through softwood cuttings. Cut a 4- to 6-inch length of young, flexible stem, then remove all but the top two leaves. Dip the cut end into rooting hormone, then plant it in moistened potting mix.
How long does it take for a guava to grow?
But be aware Guava grows very, very slowly when young before hitting a growth spurt. It can take four to eight years before a plant sprouted from seed will reach fruiting maturity—if it sets fruit at all. Botanical Name. Psidium guajava. Common Name. Guava. Plant Type. Broadleaf evergreen shrub or tree.
How tall can guava plants grow?
Featured Video. In the landscape, these plants can grow to 20 feet or more in height, but as an indoor container plant, it is kept much smaller. Getting indoor guava plants to flower and produce fruit is a hit-or-miss proposition, at best, so the plants are generally grown as novelty specimens, much the way an indoor orange or fig tree is grown.
What are the pests that eat guava?
Young guava is vulnerable to pests including aphids, mealy bugs, scale, and whitefly. If possible, identify the infestation as early as possible and treat with the least toxic option.
Where do guavas grow?
Guava Care. Guava plants are native to the tropical and subtropical Americas and will do best in conditions that mimic those regions. They like moderately warm, humid conditions and react badly to any hint of cold or to desert-like heat.
What is a guava tree?
Guava is a small single- or multi-trunked tree up to 20 feet tall. The bark is attractive, with a mottled greenish-brown to light brown color. The guava fruit is a round or ovoid berry with small brown seeds and a green to yellow peel.
Is guava a invasive plant in Florida?
Keep an eye on it, however; guava are considered invasive in South Florida and shouldn't be planted there. Guava is a small single- or multi-trunked tree up ...
Can guava be planted in full sun?
The plant can self-pollinate, but crosspollination will increase the yield. Like all tropical plants, guava should be protected from freezes. It’s quite drought tolerant, and should be planted in full sun. It should be noted that guava is listed as a "caution" plant for central and south Florida on the UF/IFAS Assessment ...
Buying, Cooking, and Recipes
Linnea Covington has been writing about food for over a decade. From farmers' markets to award-winning restaurants, if the eats prove good, she's there, often trailed by her two young boys.
What Is Guava?
Originally guava came from hot and humid areas in Mexico, Central America, Northern South America, and the Caribbean. It is indeed a tropical fruit, and throughout these countries, guava gets used in an array of jelly-like desserts, pies, pastries, as a sauce, to glaze meat and serve fresh.
How to Cook With Guava
The whole guava fruit is edible and can be eaten like an apple. It can be bitten into whole, served sliced, or, if the outer shell isn't appealing to the eater, the softer fruit can be scooped out. Guava flesh, seeds, and all, get made into smoothies and juice.
What Does It Taste Like?
Guava tastes like a cross between pineapple and strawberry, with flesh similar to a pear. It's also similar to passion fruit in flavor. Overall, the guava is sweet without being saccharine and has an overall tropical essence.
Guava Recipes
Guava is one type of fruit that's great baked into dessert, paired with cheese, glazing meat, and used in sauces. Play around with this sweet fruit to discover a whole world of guava-enhanced meals.
Where to Buy Guava
Find these fruits fresh in specialty grocery stores around the country. However, if in Florida or nearby, fresh guava can be found in most supermarkets. Another way to source guava is to look for frozen pulp, freeze-dried guava, or dried fruit.
Storage
Fresh guava that is still dark green can be kept in a room-temperature kitchen in a bowl, or placed in a paper bag to help speed up ripening. Guava that's a lighter green and/or with spots of pink should be eaten right away or kept in the refrigerator to slow the ripening process down.
What is guava used for?
Various parts of the plant, including the leaf and the fruit, are used as medicine. People use guava leaf for stomach and intestinal conditions, pain, diabetes, and wound healing. The fruit is used for high blood pressure. But there is no good scientific evidence to support any uses of guava.
What are the conditions that guava can cause?
Hair growth. Skin and nail health. Sleep. Skin infections , when applied to the skin. Fever, when applied to the skin. Vaginal infections and irritation, when applied to the skin. Skin wounds, when applied to the skin. Other conditions. More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of guava for these uses.
Is guava leaf safe to use on the face?
When applied to the skin: Guava leaf extract is POSSIBLY SAFE when applied to the skin or inside the mouth as a rinse. It might cause skin irritation in some people.
Is guava leaf extract safe to eat?
When taken by mouth: Guava fruit is LIKELY SAFE when eaten as a food. Guava fruit and guava leaf extract are POSSIBLY SAFE when used as a medicine, short-term. Guava leaf extract might cause temporary nausea or stomach pain in some people.
Does guava leaf extract help with diarrhea?
Taking guava leaf extract with oral rehydration therapy (ORT) doesn' t seem to shorten the duration of diarrhea or reduce pain. But it might help to reduce how often stomach pain occurs. Menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea). Early research shows that taking guava leaf extract might reduce menstrual cramps by a small amount.
Does guava help with plaque?
But it doesn't seem to reduce plaque. High blood pressure. Early research shows that eating large amounts of guava daily in place of high-fat foods for 12 weeks lowers blood pressure in people with high blood pressure. Knee pain.
Does guava leaf extract help with menstrual cramps?
Early research shows that taking guava leaf extract might reduce menstrual cramps by a small amount. A mild form of gum disease (gingivitis). Rinsing the mouth with guava leaf extract might reduce gum disease in people with gingivitis. But it doesn't seem to reduce plaque. High blood pressure.
What does guava smell like?
When guava is fully matured and ripe, it will start to give some nice and pleasant aroma that smells like a hybrid between pear and strawberry. When guava fruits are about to ripe, they usually smell like a musky in a locker room. Learn more about the smell of guava. Additionally, you can also get to know when guava ripe by gently pressing ...
When is Guava Ripe to Eat?
Guava has no specific season for harvesting. The main signs of guava ripeness are color and smell changing.
When is Guava Ready to Pick?
Guava plants usually start fruiting during its 2-4 th year of planting. If conditions are met as guava required, one guava plant can produce fruits from 50-80 pounds in a year.
How to ripen a guava tree?
And then ripen off the parent guava tree. You can ripen off your guava fruit with paper bag or edible wax. Place the fruits you want to ripen in a paper bag and sealed.
How many times does a guava plant produce fruit?
In some areas with favorable climatic conditions such as Florida, guava plant was found to produce more fruits at least 1 to 2 times in a single year. Proper fertilizer application and pruning are also important factors that influence fruiting time and fruit production.
What does it mean when a guava is turning yellow?
When the fruits change from dark green to light green or golden yellow, that is an indication that your guava is ready to be picked. It is important to know that guava has no specific time for producing fruits and ripening. Guava can produce fruits whenever the conditions are favorable. The.
How to tell if a guava is bad?
You can tell the guava fruit is bad by pressing the guava fruit with your fingers and gently squeezing the fruit. If the skin of the guava fruit tears away, rotted away, or collapse so easily, that is an indication that your guava is bad. You can also know that your guava fruit is bad or spoiled when you sniff the guava fruit ...
What is the most common guava?
Varieties of Guava. Apple Guava: This is the most common guava that is eaten fresh. It has lovely white fruit that turns light yellow. Strawberry Guava: A tasty guava that has a distinct strawberry flavor. This is an excellent option for eating straight off the tree.
Where can I grow guava?
Guava grow well in zones 8 to 11. Typically, they do best in parts of Hawaii, California, Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. You can also grow guava in containers so that you can take them indoors in areas that get too cold. Guava don’t like the cold, and if the tree is young, a hard winter may kill it.
Why is it important to pick guava early?
Timing is key because if you pick guava early, it won’t taste good, and if you wait too long, they become a target for fruit flies.
How long does it take for a guava tree to grow?
Be sure to harden off for a week before putting in the ground. It will take up to three years for a guava tree to fruit when grown from seed.
How to grow guava in a pot?
Planting in Pots. If you have limited space or don’t want a huge tree, you can try growing guava in containers. Initially, plant them in a pot about 12 inches and each year replant in a slightly bigger container. Use good quality potting mix and make sure your pot has good drainage .
What is the difference between Mexican cream and guava?
Mexican Cream: Sometimes called ‘Tropical Yellow,’ this variety has incredibly sweet, tender flesh perfectly suited to desserts. This tree has a more upright form than some other guava trees. Lemon Guava: This variety has both yellow skin and yellow flesh with a distinct lemon flavor.
How long do you soak guava seeds before planting?
Guava seeds have a hard outer layer, so you need to soak the seeds in water for 10 to 15 days before planting in a good quality seed mix in a small pot.
How big are guavas?
The flowers of guava plants are usually group from 1 to 4with numerous stamens. These many stamens are arranged on a width disk. The fruits are normally oval or round and range in size from 1 to 3cm in diameter. It is believed to be a tropical and non tropical fruit.
How tall is a guava tree?
Overview. Guava is a small shrub and woody tree of not more than 10-15m height. The branches of the guava plant are wide spreading with greenish leaves that have a fragrant aroma and oppositely arranged to the stems. Leaves have lengths between 4-8cm with leaf margin that is entire. Leaves have prominent veins from the underside ...
Can you eat the Seeds of Guava?
Seeds present in guava fruits are edible. They contain a high amount of antioxidants and other nutrients. But, do not over consume the seeds as they contain cyanide. And this phytochemical when accumulated in the body may cause cyanide poisoning.
How do you know if a guava is ripe?
How do I know Guava is Ripe? You can distinguish between ripe guava and unripe guava by color and smell. The fully ripe guava has a pleasant smell and light green to a golden yellowish-green in color. The ripe guava fruit is also softer than the unripe guava.
How long does it take for guava to ripen?
You will find that your fruits are fully ripe. An image showing a fully ripe guava fruits after 4 days.
Why do you ripen guavas?
Ripening your guava fruit off the parent plant helps prevent the fruit from damage or becoming rotten so easily .
Is guava a tropical fruit?
It is believed to be a tropical and non tropical fruit. This tropical plant with a smell like a combo between strawberry and pear is sometimes difficult to tell when it is fully ripe. This is because guava can produce fruits at any time of the year if there are favorable climatic conditions and good timely pruning.
Overview
Guava is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava Psidium guajava (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. The name guava is also given to some other species in the genus Psidium such as strawberry guava (Psidium cattleya…
Types
The most frequently eaten species, and the one often simply referred to as "the guava", is the apple guava (Psidium guajava). Guavas are typical Myrtoideae, with tough dark heavy leaves that are opposite, simple, elliptic to ovate, and 5–15 centimetres (2–6 in) long. The flowers are white, with five petals and numerous stamens. The fruits are many-seeded berries.
Etymology
The term guava appears to have been derived from Arawak guayabo 'guava tree', via the Spanish guayaba. It has been adapted in many European and Asian languages, having a similar form.
Origin and distribution
Guavas originated from an area thought to extend from Mexico, Central America or northern South America throughout the Caribbean region. Archaeological sites in Peru yielded evidence of guava cultivation as early as 2500 BCE.
Guava was adopted as a crop in subtropical and tropical Asia, parts of the United States (from Tennessee and North Carolina, southward, as well as the west and Hawaii), tropical Africa, Sout…
Ecology
Psidium species are eaten by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, mainly moths like the Ello Sphinx (Erinnyis ello), Eupseudosoma aberrans, E. involutum, and Hypercompe icasia. Mites, like Pronematus pruni and Tydeus munsteri, are known to be crop pests of the apple guava (P. guajava) and perhaps other species. The bacterium Erwinia psidii causes rot diseases of the apple guava.
The fruit is cultivated and favored by humans, and many other animals such as birds consume it…
Fruit
Guava fruits, usually 4 to 12 centimetres (1+1⁄2 to 4+1⁄2 in) long, are round or oval depending on the species. They have a pronounced and typical fragrance, similar to lemon rind but less sharp. The outer skin may be rough, often with a bitter taste, or soft and sweet. Varying between species, the skin can be any thickness, is usually green before maturity, but may be yellow, maroon, or gree…
Production
In 2019, world production of guavas was 55 million tonnes, led by India with 45% of the total (table). Other major producers were China and Thailand.
Culinary uses
In Mexico and other Latin American countries, the popular beverage agua fresca is often made with guava. The entire fruit is a key ingredient in punch, and the juice is often used in culinary sauces (hot or cold), ales, candies, dried snacks, fruit bars, and desserts, or dipped in chamoy. Pulque de guayaba ("guayaba" is Spanish for guava) is a popular alcoholic beverage in these regions.