Greek psidion, classical name for the Pomegranate.
Evergreen trees or shrubs. Leaves opposite. Flowers 1, 2 or 3 together, axillary, stalked, white; spring. Sepals forming a tube above the ovary that eventually splits irregularly. Petals 5, spreading. Stamens numerous, free. Ovary with 4-5 chambers. Fruit a round to ovoid berry, sepals persistent.
Grown for the dense evergreen foliage and attractively coloured, edible fruits.
Although the fruits of P. littorale may be eaten, plants of this species are generally grown for ornament.
The Guava of commerce is P. guajava L., Common Guava (Yellow Guava,Apple Guava), a shrub or tree to 10 m tall which has ovoid fruits 3-10 cm long with yellow to dark pink flesh. Grown throughout the tropics and subtropics, this fruit is still to be explored in Australia although in Qld it has become a pest plant. Commercial cultivars include 'Allahabad', 'Ka Hua Kula', 'Lucknow 49' and 'Safeda'.
About 100 species from tropical America.
Seed or cuttings, some commercial clones by budding.
Fruits edible and used raw and for preserves, jellies and drinks, especially in the tropics; some medicinal uses.
Flowers few, axillary; fruit fleshy.
Source: (2002). Myrtaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
