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Psidium cattleianum

(Cattley Guava, Cherry Guava, Chinese Guava, Kuahpa, Purple Guava, Sabine, Strawberry Guava)

Overview

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Tree from Brazil with purplish-red fruit about 2.5 cm in diameter, with white pulp, eaten raw or made into jam or jellies, tasting somewhat like strawberries. Another variety has larger, yellow fruits.

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Afrikaans:

Aarbei Koejawel

Common Names in English:

Cattley Guava, Cherry Guava, Chinese Guava, Kuahpa, Purple Guava, Sabine, Strawberry Guava

Common Names in French:

Goyavier De Cattley, Goyavier-Fraise

Common Names in German:

Cattley Guava

Common Names in Portuguese:

Araçá-Da-Praia, Araçá-De-Comer, Araçá-De-Coroa, Araçá-Do-Campo, Araçá-Do-Mato, Araça, Araça Amarelo, Araca Da Praia, Araca De Coroa, Araca Vermelho

Common Names in Spanish:

Cas Dulce, Guayaba, Guayaba De Fresa, Guayaba Japonesa, Guayaba Perúana

Description

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Family Myrtaceae

Trees or shrubs , evergreen , usually with essential oils-containing cavities in foliage , branchlets , and flowers. Stipules absent or small and caducous . Leaves opposite, occasionally alternate, occasionally ternate or pseudo-whorled; leaf blade with secondary veins pinnate or basal, often with intramarginal veins near margin , margin usually entire . Inflorescences axillary or terminal , cymose but variously arranged, 1- to many-flowered. Flowers bisexual , sometimes polygamous, actinomorphic . Hypanthium usually adnate to ovary and prolonged above it. Calyx lobes (3 or) 4 or 5 or more, distinct or connate into a calyptra. Petals 4 or 5, sometimes absent, distinct or connate into a calyptra, sometimes coherent and pseudocalyptrate. Stamens usually numerous , in 1 to several whorls; filaments distinct or connate into 5 bundles opposite petals; anthers 2-celled, dorsifixed or basifixed , dehiscing longitudinally or rarely terminally; connectives usually terminating in 1 or more apical glands . Ovary inferior, semi-inferior, or very rarely superior, carpels 2 to more, locules 1 to many, pseudoseptum sometimes present, placentation usually axile but occasionally parietal ; ovules 1 to several per locule. Style single; stigma single. Fruit a capsule, berry, drupaceous berry, or drupe, 1- to many-seeded. Seeds without endosperm or endosperm sparse and thin; testa cartilaginous or thinly membranous, sometimes absent; embryo straight or curved .

About 130 genera and 4500-5000 species: Mediterranean region, sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, tropical and temperate Asia, Australia, Pacific islands, tropical and South America; 10 genera (five introduced ) and 121 species (50 endemic, 32 introduced treated here) in China.

Many Myrtaceae are cultivated garden ornamentals , street trees, or plantation trees. Some members of tribe Syzygieae are grown as fruit crops. In addition to the cultivated members of the family treated here, some others grown in China include Acca sellowiana (O. Berg ) Burrett (Feijoa sellowiana (O. Berg) O. Berg), Myrtus communis Linnaeus, and Syncarpia glomulifera (Smith) Niedenzu.Jie Chen & Lyn A. Craven "Myrtaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 321. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Genus Psidium

Shrubs or small trees . Bark gray, smooth . Branchlets pubescent . Leaves opposite, petiolate ; leaf blade pinnately veined. Flowers axillary , large, usually 1 or 2 per axil. Bracts 2. Hypanthium campanulate or urceolate . Calyx lobes 4 or 5, unequal. Petals 4 or 5, white. Stamens many, separate, in many whorls; anthers ellipsoid , basifixed , locules parallel, longitudinally dehiscent . Ovary inferior, adnate to hypanthium, 4- or 5-loculed or more; ovules numerous . Style linear ; stigma expanded. Berry globose to pyriform , fleshy , many-seeded, apex with persistent calyx lobes; placenta well developed, fleshy. Seed coat hard; embryo curved ; hypocotyl long; cotyledons short.

About 150 species: tropical America; two species commonly cultivated in China with one naturalized ."Psidium". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 321, 331. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Physical Description

Species Psidium cattleianum

Evergreen shrub or small tree up to 8 m (25 ft ) tall. Mature branches are gray to reddish-brown with peeling bark and young branches are round and pubescent . Leaves are opposite, simple , entire , glabrous , elliptic to oblong , to 8 cm (3 in) long. Flowers to 2.5 cm (1.2 in) wide, born singly at leaf axils , with white petals and numerous white and yellow stamens. Fruit is a globose berry, 3-6 cm (1.2-2.4 in) long, purple-red, with whitish flesh, usually sweet-tasting when ripe ; seeds are numerous.

Habit: Tree , Shrub

Flowers: Bloom Period: January, February. • Flower Color: near white, white

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 15-20' tall.

Habitat

Biome: Agricultural areas, coastland, disturbed areas, natural forest , planted forests, range/grasslands, riparian zones, scrub/shrublands, urban areas, wetlands

Ecology: Psidium cattleianum is a very serious, habitat-altering pest that poses a major threat to rare endemic flora and fauna . It forms shade-casting thickets with dense mats of surface feeder roots that make it difficult for other species to coexist. Characteristics that promote strawberry guava's success as an invader include its prolific fruiting and aggressive vegetative growth , its tolerance of shade and heavy leaf litter , and possibly through production of toxic chemicals in its leaves that prevent the growth of other plant species.

Biology

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Reproduction

Regeneration of strawberry guava is by seed and by root sprouts, which allow it to undergo expansive vegetative reproduction. Strawberry guava produces an abundance of fruits, the seeds of which are dispersed by birds and mammals. Strawberry guava is a prolific fruiter, with up to 70 seeds per fruit, though most fruits contain a lower number of seeds. Fruiting is more abundant for stems on the edge of the thickets.

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 15-20' apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Guajava cattleiana (Sabine) Kuntze
  2. Psidium cattleianum Sabine

Notes

Place of publication : Trans. Hort. Soc. London 4:317, t. 11. 1821 May-Jun

Name verified on 07-Nov-2002 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 07-Nov-2002

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Psidium

There are approximately 497 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

P. acidum · P. acranthum · P. acre · P. acunae · P. acutangulam · P. acutangulum · P. acutangulum var. acidum · P. acutangulum var. crassirame · P. acutangulum var. oblongata · P. acutangulum var. tenuirame · P. adamantium · P. aerugineum · P. aerugineum var. angustifolium · P. affine · P. alatum · P. albescens · P. albidum · P. amplexicaule (Mountain Guava) · P. amygdalinum · P. anceps · P. androsianum · P. anglohondurense · P. angustifolium · P. anthomega · P. apaense · P. apiculatum · P. apodanthum · P. appendiculatum · P. apricum · P. apysa · P. aquaticum · P. aquaticum var. triflorum · P. aquaticum var. uniflorum · P. araca · P. araca var. sampaionis · P. araneosum · P. arasa-hu · P. arasa-pe · P. arasope-mi · P. arayan · P. arboreum · P. argenteum · P. argenteum var. angustifolium · P. argenteum var. grandifolium · P. argenteum var. pumilum · P. argenteum var. purpureum · P. argentum · P. aromaticum · P. aromaticum var. grandiflorum · P. australe · P. australe var. argenteum · P. australe var. suffruticosum · P. bahorucanum · P. balium · P. barbosianum · P. basanthum · P. benthamianum · P. bergianum · P. berteroana · P. berteroanum · P. biloculare · P. blanchetianum · P. brasiliensis · P. brevifolium · P. brownianum · P. bullatum · P. buxifolium · P. cacuminis · P. calyptranthoides (Luquillo Mountain Guava) · P. campestre · P. campicolum · P. campomanisioides · P. caninum · P. canum · P. capibaryense · P. catleyanum · P. cattleianum (Cattley Guava) · P. cattleianum f. lucidum · P. cattleianum lucidum (Kuawa-Lemi) · P. cattleianum Sabine var. cattleianum Sabine · P. cattleianum Sabine var. littorale (Raddi) Fosberg · P. cattleyanum · P. cattleyanum var. coriacea · P. cattleyanum var. littorale · P. cattleyanum var. pyriformis · P. caudatum · P. celastroides · P. cerasoides · P. chiapasense · P. chiapense · P. chinense · P. chodatianum · P. chrysobalanoides · P. chrysophyllum · P. ciliatum · P. ciliatum var. sensu · P. cinereum · P. cinereum var. angustifolium · P. cinereum var. brevipes · P. cinereum var. grandifolium

Bibliography

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More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 27, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

Last Revised: 2008-09-26