Common Name: Costa Rican Guava

General Information

Costa Rican guava is a small evergreen tree, usually with a straight and cylindrical bole, often branching near the ground and with a thin, peeling, brown bark[, ]. It can reach a height of 10 metres, though is usually smaller[].
The edible fruit is sometimes gathered from the wild for local use, though it is not widely appreciated[]. The tree is occasionally cultivated for its fruit, and more commonly as an ornamental plant, from Florida and S Mexico to Ecuador and Colombia, also in tropical Africa (Uganda) and Asia (Malaysia, Philippines)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Northern S. America - Colombia through Central America to Mexico.

Habitat

Usually found bordering streams and in swampy woods along the coast and inland[]. Along the edges of tidal streams (Honduras), in forests, or in upland pastures or clearings[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	8.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the tropics and subtropics, where it can be found at elevations up to 1,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 28°c, but can tolerate 16 - 31°c[]. Plants are easily injured by frost[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 1,600mm, but tolerates 640 - 2,670mm[].
Grows best in a sunny position[].Succeeds in a range of soil conditions so long as the soil is well-drained[]. Prefers a pH in the range 6.5 - 7.2, tolerating 6 - 7.7[].
A slow-growing tree[].
Seedling plants can commence fruiting when 4 - 5 years old[].
Fruits are formed on new growth[].

Edible Uses

Fruits - raw or cooked[, ]. An aromatic but very acid flavour, they are usually cooked in pies, made into jellies etc[, ]. Sometimes eaten raw, often with salt added[]. They make a refreshing drink[]. The pectin content is high, so the fruit makes a good, firm jelly, even when used fully ripe[]. The yellow, spherical to ovoid fruit is 4 - 6cm in diameter[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The wood is fine-grained and durable[].

Propagation

Seed -

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.

Name:

Email(Private):

Message:

Captcha: 10 times itself is?