Psidium guajava, the common guava, yellow guava, lemon guava, or apple guava is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to South America. It is pollinated by insects. When cultivated, it is pollinated mainly by the common honey bee, Apis mellifera.
Description
Widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, guava fruits can range in size from as small as an apricot to as large as a grapefruit. Various cultivars have white, pink, or red flesh; a few varieties feature red (instead of green or yellow) skin.
When cultivated from seed, guavas are notable for their extremely slow growth rate for several months, before a very rapid acceleration in growth rate takes over. From seed, common guavas may bloom and set fruit in as few as two years or as many as eight. Cuttings, grafting, and air layering are more commonly used as a propagation method in commercial groves. Highly adaptable, guavas can be easily grown as container plants in temperate regions, though their ability to bloom and set fruit is somewhat less predictable.
Seedling, 14 months
Honey bee on a P. guajava flower
Leaves
P. guajava fruit
Red guava
The leaves of P. guajava contain the flavonol morin, morin-3-O-lyxoside, morin-3-O-arabinoside, quercetin and quercetin-3-O-arabinoside.
Chemistry
The leaves of P. guajava contain the flavonol morin, morin-3-O-lyxoside, morin-3-O-arabinoside, quercetin and quercetin-3-O-arabinoside.
Distribution and habitat
Guava is native to Peru. Some sources list it as also native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and the rest of South America.
It is a perennial tree that grows well under sun or warm temperatures. Therefore, it appears in numerous countries that have tropical or subtropical weather. Guava has a habitat contributing along roadside, grassland, or near sea level to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) and it is more prevalent in humid grassland.
