The Guava, Psidium guajava

The Guava, Psidium guajava is best recognized by the combination of stiff opposite leaves with very prominent venation, scaly bark and distinctive fruit.  It is an evergreen shrub or small tree that reaches heights of only 15 feet.   It grows in an upright fashion with a spreading crown.  The bark is smooth and red-green in color with bark that shreds in thin plates.

  

Cesar Calderon, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org

The leaves are opposite and simple in shape, thick, leathery, wedged at the base and with an abruptly shaped point on the tip.  The flowers have 5 petals and are white in color.  The fruit is green, yellow or pink in the form of a berry that is rounded or pear shaped.   

The fruit of a Guava is different by species and can range from roughly skinned with a bitter flavor or soft skinned and sweet.  In Mexico the guava is made into beverages, sauces, candies, fruit bars, desserts and dried snacks.  In many countries the fruit is eaten raw like an Apple of quartered and eaten with salt and pepper or served in salads.  In Pakistan the Guava is the national winter fruit.  In the Phillipines Guava is used in cooking sinigang.  In Asia & Taiwan it is eaten with sweet and sour plum powder mixtures.  

Cesar Calderon, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org

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