Guaviroba
Campomanesia guaviroba

Family: Myrtaceae

What it is like

A small tree. It loses many leaves during the year. It grows 6-12 m tall. The leaves are simple and oval. They can have fine hairs along the veins. The leaves are 4-13 cm long. The flowers occur singly in the axils of leaves. The flower stalks have fine hairs. The flowers are like guava. The fruit are oval or round. They are about 2.5 cm across. The fruit are yellow or orange. The fruit have a juicy, sweet pulp. They have a large disk at the top and calyx segments which remain on the fruit. The fruit has a thin skin with a wrinkled surface. The flesh is yellow and soft with several seeds inside.

There are at least 11 Campomanesia species. See possible synonyms and alternate names under Campomanesia Campomanesia guaviroba is an illegitimate, superfluous name (ICBN Art. 52) as Berg cited Psidium dulcis as a synonym

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows naturally in the forest near the Atlantic in Brazil. In Argentina it grows below 1,000m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil (country/location of origin), Paraguay, South America, USA

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten raw.

It is occasionally cultivated as a fruit tree. The fruit are popular.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. The seeds are collecting by shaking fruiting branches over canvas and then putting the fruit in plastic bags to partly decompose and washing out the seeds in running water. Seeds need to be planted fresh and are best in light shade. Seedlings emerge in 10-20 days.

Plants grow rapidly.

Its other names

Local names

Guabiroba-do-litoral, Guabirobeira-folha-large, Guabirova

Synonyms

Abbevillea cerasoides (Cambess.) O. Berg.; Abbevillea fenzliana O. Berg.; Abbevillea guaviroba (DC.) O. Berg.; Abbevillea klotzschiana O. Berg.; Abbevillea maschalantha O. Berg.; Abbevillea punctata (DC.) O. Berg.; Abbevillea sellowiana O. Berg.; Campomanesia cerasoides (Cambess.) A. Gray; Campomanesia dulcis (Vell.) J. F. MacBr.; Campomanesia fenzliana Glaz.; Campomanesia maschalantha (O. Berg) Kiaersk ex Engl. & Prantl.; Campomanesia punctulata (DC.) Mattos & D. Legrand; Campomanesia stictopetala Kiaersk.; Psidium cerasoides Cambess.; Psidium dulce Vell.; Psidium guaviroba DC.; Psidium punctulatum DC.; and some varieties of the above.