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Feijoa (Feijoa sellowiana) is the only species in its genus, an evergreen shrub or small tree from the Myrtle family grown for its edible fruit. It needs a mild, cool-winter climate with enough winter chill to fruit well.
Feijoa sellowiana, also known as Acca sellowiana (O.Berg) Burret, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It is the only species in the genus Feijoa. It is native mainly to the highlands of Colombia, southern Brazil and the hills of northeast Uruguay, but it can also be found in eastern Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is commonly known as feijoa, quirina (lusitanized from Kaingang: kanê kriyne), or pineapple guava.
It is an evergreen shrub or small tree, 1–7 metres (3.3–23.0 ft) in height. The oblong leaves are about 5 cm (2.0 in) long, dark green on the upper side and white underneath. The flowers have five whitish petals which are puffy, possibly filled with some gas. There are about 25 dark red stamens projecting from the centre.
In Brazil, it is naturally found around Araucaria angustifolia forests at altitudes more than 900 metres. The plant is a warm-temperate, subtropical plant that also will grow in the tropics, but requires at least 50 hours of winter chilling to fruit, and is frost-tolerant. When grown from seed, feijoas are noted for slow growth during their first year or two, and young plants, though cold tolerant, can be sensitive to high wind.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the species has been cultivated in the United Kingdom and as far north as western Scotland, but under such conditions it does not fruit every year, as winter temperatures below approximately −9 °C (16 °F) kill the flower buds. Summer temperatures above 32 °C (90 °F) may also have an adverse effect upon fruit set. Feijoas are somewhat tolerant of drought and salt in soils, though fruit production can be adversely affected. Tolerant to partial shade, regular watering is essential while the fruit is maturing.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Feijoa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
