Native guava is a shrub or small rainforest tree from eastern Australia, growing up to about 12 m, with glossy leaves and edible yellow berries. It is fast growing and suits sheltered, moist, warm spots.
Family
Myrtaceae (Myrtle family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Part shade, Bright indirect
Water
Keep soil evenly moist during growth, and let the top layer dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Free-draining, moist, slightly acidic rainforest-type soil or a rich potting mix.
Temperature
15–30 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Native range
SE. Queensland to New South Wales
Climate
subtropical
About
Rhodomyrtus psidioides, the native guava, is a shrub or small rainforest tree up to 12 m (39 ft) high, member of the botanical family Myrtaceae, native to eastern Australia.
Leaves are ovate to elliptic or oblong, 5–25 cm (2–10 in) long and 2.5–6.5 cm (1–3 in) wide, with a glossy upper surface and paler lower surface. Oil glands are numerous, and the leaves have a pineapple-like fragrance and stickiness when crushed. White or pink flowers occur in raceme-like inflorescences; followed by a berry, 15–25 mm (0.59–0.98 in) long, 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) wide, yellow and fleshy.
Uses
The berry of native guava is edible with a pleasant aromatic flavor. The tree is fast growing and has an important successional role in rainforest regeneration.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rhodomyrtus psidioides 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.