Editing Psidium cattleianum

{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; width: 320px; margin-left: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 1em;"
|-
! colspan="2" style="background: #e8e8e8;" | Strawberry guava (''Psidium cattleyanum'')
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | [[File:Psidium cattleianum unripe fruit.jpg|thumb|center|250px|Unripe strawberry-guava fruit. Photo by YuriNikolai, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.]]
|-
! Scientific name
| ''Psidium cattleyanum'' Sabine
|-
! Common names
| Strawberry guava, cattley guava, cherry guava
|-
! Genus
| ''[[Psidium]]''
|-
! Family
| ''[[Myrtaceae]]''
|-
! Order
| ''[[Myrtales]]''
|-
! Fruit type
| Berry
|-
! Growth form
| Evergreen shrub or small tree
|-
! Native range
| Eastern and southern Brazil to northeastern Uruguay
|-
! Climate and hardiness
| Tropical to warm subtropical; UF/IFAS lists USDA zones 10A–11
|-
! Mature size
| Up to about 8 m; often 3–4.5 m in landscapes
|-
! Soil and water
| Acid or alkaline sand, loam, or clay if well drained; moderate drought tolerance once established
|-
! Sun and humidity
| Full sun to partial shade; airflow is useful in humid plantings
|-
! Propagation
| Seed or air-layering; suckers may also spread the plant
|-
! Germination
| Seeds germinate easily and rapidly in the UF/IFAS account
|-
! Years to fruit
| 7–8 years from seed in the UF/IFAS account; other plants may differ
|-
! Pollination
| N/A in the sources consulted
|-
! Fruit and harvest
| Round to obovoid purple-red berry, usually 1–2 in (2.5–5 cm); UF/IFAS reports year-round fruiting and a July peak in its Florida example
|}

'''Strawberry guava''' ('''''Psidium cattleyanum''''' Sabine; widely written ''P. cattleianum'' in horticultural sources) is a compact evergreen guava relative grown for its aromatic red or yellow fruit. Kew's Plants of the World Online currently accepts ''P. cattleyanum'', while the University of Florida's horticultural and invasive-plant references use ''P. cattleianum''.<sup id="cite_ref-1">[[#cite_note-1|[1]]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-2">[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

== Description ==

[[File:Psidium cattleianum - Fruit and Spice Park - Homestead, Florida - DSC08882.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Strawberry-guava trees in a cultivated planting at Fruit and Spice Park, Homestead, Florida. Photo by Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.]]

Strawberry guava is an upright, multi-branched evergreen shrub or small tree. The bark is smooth and gray-brown to reddish brown, often peeling in thin sheets. Leaves are opposite or nearly opposite, simple, entire, leathery, and elliptic to obovate, with a darker upper surface and paler underside. UF/IFAS describes plants as capable of reaching about 25 ft (7.6 m), although specimens are often 10–15 ft (3–4.5 m).[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]

The flowers are white, about 1 in (2.5 cm) across, and have conspicuous numerous stamens. They are produced singly or in small groups at the leaf axils. The fruit is a fleshy berry, round to obovoid and typically purple-red when ripe; the pale flesh is described as sweet-tart, with numerous small seeds.[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]<sup id="cite_ref-3">[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>

The name strawberry guava is sometimes applied loosely to related ''Psidium'' plants. The accepted name and the older ''P. cattleianum'' spelling should be kept distinct from lemon guava and from common guava (''[[Psidium guajava]]'').

== Distribution and habitat ==

Kew records ''Psidium cattleyanum'' as native from eastern and southern Brazil to northeastern Uruguay, where it grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.[[#cite_note-1|[1]]] The sources consulted do not establish one narrowly defined native soil or moisture regime. In cultivation, the species accepts a broad range of soil textures, but productive plants still need aerated drainage rather than permanently waterlogged roots.

The species has been planted widely in tropical and subtropical regions. UF/IFAS documents escape from cultivation, seed dispersal by animals, and dense stands formed partly through suckering in invaded habitats; this is a site-specific management issue rather than a description of every cultivated tree.[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]

== Cultivation ==

=== Soil and water ===

UF/IFAS lists tolerance of sand, clay, and loam, as well as acidic and alkaline soils, provided drainage is adequate. Richer soil improves fruit quality. Plants are moderately drought-tolerant once established, but regular moisture during establishment and fruit development, together with organic mulch, supports steadier growth. The native-range reviewed sources do not document a single characteristic soil, so a precise native pH or substrate should not be inferred.[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]

=== Sun and humidity ===

Full sun or partial shade is reported in the UF/IFAS cultivation account. Full sun generally favors fruit quality, while partial shade can be useful during establishment or in hot sites. Kew places the species mainly in the seasonally dry tropical biome; in humid climates, leave enough spacing for airflow around the evergreen canopy.[[#cite_note-1|[1]]][[#cite_note-2|[2]]]

=== Seasonal changes ===

UF/IFAS reports flowers and fruit through the year, with the heaviest flowering in April and a prominent red-fruit crop in July in its Florida example. Those dates are not a universal calendar: temperature, rainfall, latitude, and pruning history can shift flowering and ripening. In a seasonally dry setting, maintain moisture during the dry period when fruit is sizing, then avoid keeping cool-season or container roots saturated.[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]

=== Temperature and size control ===

UF/IFAS places the plant in USDA zones 10A–11 and describes moderate growth. Pruning is usually light; when size must be controlled, prune after fruiting. The species can be grown as a container or patio plant, but suckers and volunteer seedlings should be removed where they are not wanted.[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]

== Propagation ==

Seeds germinate easily and rapidly according to UF/IFAS, but seedlings are not guaranteed to match a selected fruiting plant. The same source lists air-layering as an alternative. Suckering is documented in invaded populations; a sucker can preserve the parent genotype, but it also requires management where spread is undesirable.[[#cite_note-2|[2]]][[#cite_note-3|[3]]]

The UF/IFAS account reports seven or eight years to fruit for seedlings. That is the documented figure retained here; the timing of grafted, layered, or unusually vigorous plants is not treated as a universal value.

== Flowering, fruiting, and harvest ==

[[File:Psidium cattleianum - Val Rahmeh - DSC04447.jpg|thumb|right|260px|A cultivated strawberry-guava specimen at the Jardin botanique du Val Rahmeh, Menton, France. Photo by Daderot, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.]]

Flowers may appear sporadically through much of the year, with a heavier April bloom in the UF/IFAS Florida account. The same source describes fruiting as year-round and notes a July ripening period for bright-red fruit. Pick fruit for eating before fruit-fly larvae become established; ripe fruit can be messy when it falls and softens quickly.[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]

The sources consulted do not provide a reliable species-wide pollination requirement. Insect visitation is plausible for the conspicuous flowers, but a self-fertility claim is omitted rather than generalized from another guava.

== Fruit and uses ==

Ripe strawberry guava is eaten fresh and can be processed into juice, jam, jelly, syrup, or desserts. The pale flesh is sweet-tart in the UF/IFAS description. Fruit size, skin color, flavor, and seediness vary among plants; the yellow-fruited form should not be assumed to be a formally named cultivar without provenance or cultivar evidence.[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]<sup id="cite_ref-4">[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup>

== Pests and diseases ==

UF/IFAS reports no major pest or disease problem for the tree itself in its landscape account, but fruit-fly larvae can damage the crop. In regions where the plant has naturalized, birds and other animals disperse seeds, and mechanical cutting can stimulate additional suckering.[[#cite_note-2|[2]]][[#cite_note-3|[3]]]

== Photos ==
[[File:Starr 031002-0001 Psidium cattleianum.jpg|300px|Plant habit with pale unripe fruit; the Commons record identifies this as the yellow-fruit variety photographed at Piiholo, Maui. Photo by Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.]]

== References ==

* <span id="cite_note-1"></span>[[#cite_ref-1|↑]] '''[1]''' [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A600760-1/general-information Plants of the World Online: ''Psidium cattleyanum'' Sabine], Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Accessed 2026-08-24.

* <span id="cite_note-2"></span>[[#cite_ref-2|↑]] '''[2]''' Gilman, E. F. et al. 2018. [https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST529 ENH-687/ST529: ''Psidium cattleianum'': Strawberry Guava], UF/IFAS Extension. Revised December 2018; accessed 2026-08-24.

* <span id="cite_note-3"></span>[[#cite_ref-3|↑]] '''[3]''' [https://plant-directory.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/psidium-cattleianum/ UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants: ''Psidium cattleianum''], accessed 2026-08-24.

* <span id="cite_note-4"></span>[[#cite_ref-4|↑]] '''[4]''' [https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Psidium+cattleianum Useful Tropical Plants: ''Psidium cattleianum''], accessed 2026-08-24.

== Image credits ==

* Unripe fruit: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Psidium_cattleianum_unripe_fruit.jpg YuriNikolai], CC0.
* Fruit and Spice Park planting: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Psidium_cattleianum_-_Fruit_and_Spice_Park_-_Homestead,_Florida_-_DSC08882.jpg Daderot], CC0.
* Val Rahmeh specimen: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Psidium_cattleianum_-_Val_Rahmeh_-_DSC04447.jpg Daderot], public domain.
* Yellow-fruit variety plant habit: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starr_031002-0001_Psidium_cattleianum.jpg Forest & Kim Starr], CC BY 3.0.

[[Category:Fruits]]
[[Category:Myrtaceae]]
[[Category:Psidium]]