Guava tree

GUAVA TREE substantive, botany – genus of myrtaceae, which includes several species of trees growing in America and in the East Indies. psidium guaiava, of which several species are cultivated, is a small tree from 9.84 to 16.4 feet (3 to 5 m) high, seldom can it grow up to 23 feet (7 m). Its fruit, of a bright yellow colour, have a strong fragrance and contain a yellowish or reddish pulp which has an acidulous flavour. The guava tree, which grows in abundance in the West Indies, was acclimatized in Algeria and in several other warm countries. In other places, it is grown in greenhouses for its ornamental foliage and flowers, as well as for its fruit. The red strawberry guava (psidium gattleyanum), though imported from China to Europe, is probably indigenous of South America; it is hardier and it yields more fruit than the common guava tree.

Extract from the Trousset encyclopedia, 1886 – 1891.