Psidium guajava is an ornamental, evergreen shrub or small tree with an open crown, growing 3 - 10 metres tall.
The short, often crooked bole can be 20 - 30cm in diameter.
Very popular fruit crop, widely eaten worldwide; also used extensively in traditional medicine and other commodities.
Widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas as an edible fruit, pioneer species, and ornamental plant.

Known Hazards

None known

Habitat

Common in disturbed places, forming thickets in pastures, plantations, and similar habitats in the Pacific Islands.

Cultivation Status

Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Hardy tree adaptable to a wide range of conditions from humid lowlands to cooler elevations.
Fruits at elevations up to 1,500 metres, surviving up to 2,000 metres.
Tolerates wide temperature ranges; best yields at mean temperatures 23 - 28°C.
Can withstand light frost in subtropics; dormant plants survive down to -5°C, but young growth damaged at -1°C.
Requires at least 1,000mm annual rainfall, with a dry period for fruit ripening.
Prefers fertile, moisture-retentive soil, full sun.
Tolerates a range of soil conditions, moderately saline soils, pH 5.5 - 7.5.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked.
Pulp is soft, fleshy, aromatic, high in vitamin C, vitamin A, and pectin.
Used for jams, purees, desserts.
Fruit is yellow-skinned, ovoid or pear-shaped, 4 - 12cm in diameter, up to 500g.
Edible oil from seeds.
Leaves used in cooking in some Asian countries.

Medicinal

Decoction antispasmodic, astringent, febrifuge, vulnerary.
Antibacterial against intestinal pathogens.
Young fruit astringent, dried ripe fruits for dysentery.
Fresh fruit for constipation.
Water from soaked fruit for diabetes.
Clear juice for hepatitis, gonorrhea, diarrhea.
Seed oil (bisabolene, flavonoids) anti-inflammatory.
Leaves for diarrhea, coughs, stomach ache, dysentery, toothaches.
Leaves, bark decoction for skin complaints, wounds, ulcers.
Bark with other roots for diarrhea, dysentery.

Agroforestry Uses

None Recorded

Other Uses

Leaves, bark for dyeing, tanning.
Leaves pounded with coconut milk for black dye on silk.
Essential oil (methylchavicol, persein, d-pinene) from leaves.
Insecticidal properties.
Wood hard, moderately heavy, durable; used for tool handles, fence posts, carpentry, turnery, firewood, charcoal.

Propagation

Seed - very easy, plants self-sow freely.
True to parents, fruits within 3 years.
Sow in beds, pots, or field 1 cm deep; germinates in 15 - 20 days.
Plant out at 25 cm height.
Air-layering, cuttings, grafting.