Psidium friedrichsthalianum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Psidium friedrichsthalianum (O. Berg) Niedenzu

Family: Myrtaceae

Vernacular names

• Costa Rican guava (En).

Distribution

Central and South America, wild and cultivated. Rarely cultivated elsewhere; in South-East Asia in the Philippines.

Uses

The fruit is edible but acid; it is often used to make ale, jelly and jam. The wood is fine-grained and durable.

Observations

• Tree, 6-10 m tall, branchlets wiry, dark reddish.
• Fruit a globose or ovoid berry, 3-6 cm long, yellow, flesh white.

Usually bordering streams and in swampy woods along the coast. In cultivation in home gardens up to medium altitudes.

Selected sources

• Mansfeld, R. & Schultze Motel, J., 1986. Verzeichnis landwirtschaftlicher und gärtnerischer Kuturpflanzen. 2nd ed. 4 Volumes. Springer Verlag, Berlin. 1998 pp.

• Morton, J.F., 1987. Fruits of warm climates. Creative Resource Systems Inc., Winterville, N.C., USA. 503 pp.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen