Common Guava

Small trees, up to 13 m tall. Bark brown-gray, smooth, peeling in strips. Leaf blade elliptic, 6-12cm long, leathery. Fruit (berry) 5-10 cm long, light yellow with a pink, granular flesh. Edible. Numerous very hard seeds (3 mm long).

Native to Central and South America. Cultivated throughout the tropics.

The juice of the squeezed fruits is used for maintaining healthy skin. The leaves are chewed to prevent diarrhea.

“Common Guava” is related (same family) to Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus sp.). You can easily tell from the peeling bark. Guavas are of special interest to home growers in subtropical areas as one of the few tropical fruits that can grow to fruiting size in pots indoors.