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Psidium cattleyanum
Also called Cherry Guava, Cattley Guava, Purple Guava, Cherry Purple Guava, Chinese Guava, Purple Strawberry Guava, Yellow Strawberry Guava
A small, highly branched tree or large shrub from Brazil grown for its edible fruit, which ripens from yellow to red or purple. It is widely grown in warm climates but is invasive in many tropical areas, so check local rules before planting.
Psidium cattleyanum (World Plants: Psidium cattleianum), commonly known as Cattley guava, strawberry guava or cherry guava, is a small tree (2–6 m (6 ft 7 in – 19 ft 8 in) tall) in the Myrtaceae (myrtle) family. The species is named in honour of English horticulturist William Cattley. The red-fruited variety, P. cattleyanum var. cattleyanum, is commonly known as purple guava, red cattley guava, red strawberry guava and red cherry guava. The yellow-fruited variety, P. cattleyanum var. littorale is variously known as yellow cattley guava, yellow strawberry guava, yellow cherry guava, lemon guava and in Hawaii as waiawī.
It is an invasive plant in many areas and is considered the most invasive species in Hawaii, although it has some economic uses, including its edible fruit.
Though native to Brazil, it is now distributed throughout many tropical regions. It was introduced in Hawaii as early as 1825 to create an agricultural market for its fruits, but it has yet to be a commercially viable product. It is now highly prevalent in tropical rainforest ecosystems due mainly to accidental transportation and its invasive plant properties.
Both the fruit's thin skin and juicy interior are soft and edible. It can also be used to make jam and juices. The skin is often removed for a sweeter flavour. The seeds are small and white in colour. Its leaves may be brewed for tea. The wood of the tree is hard, compact, durable, and resistant, and is used for lathe work, tool handles, charcoal, and firewood. The plant is indispensable for mixed planting in reforestation of reclaimed and protected areas in Brazil.
Wild guava · Guava · Guava
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Psidium cattleyanum 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
