Psidium guajava L.
yellow guava
Shrub or small tree to c. 3 m high. Trunk smooth, light brown. Shoots quadrangular, densely hairy. Petiole 5-10 mm long. Lamina 8-14 × 4.5-7 cm, oblong-elliptic to obovate-elliptic, densely hairy at first, especially on veins below, becoming glabrous above at maturity, abundantly dotted with glands beneath, ± rounded at either end; veins parallel and prominent, impressed above and raised beneath. Fls solitary; pedicels densely hairy, c. 1 cm long, with 2 subulate bracteoles c. 3 mm long. Hypanthium c. 5 mm deep, campanulate, densely hairy; calyx limb splitting into 4-5, prominent, hairy, glandular, lobes 7-8 mm long. Petals 10-13 mm long, elliptic, white, glandular-punctate. Stamens mostly slightly < petals. Style c. 1 cm long. Fr. globose or subglobose, 3-4 cm diam., becoming yellow; flesh pink, sweet. Seeds numerous.
K.: Raoul Id.
Tropical America 1965
On greatly modified terraces, forming large suckering thickets until recently; these have been eliminated and occasional young plants are now found only in the northern part of the island.
FL Jul-Mar.
The fr. of this very serious weed is much smaller in wild populations than it is in modern cvs of P. guajava. It was probably introduced to Raoul in the last century.
