Practical
Plants

Psidium cattleianum littorale

Yellow Strawberry Guava

a perennial woody evergreen member of the Psidium genus in the family Myrtaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Family
Myrtaceae
Genus
Psidium
Life cycle
perennial
Foliage
evergreen
Woodiness
woody
Height
6 m
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Fruit - raw or cooked. Sweet and aromatic[5][2]. An agreeable acid-sweet flavour. High in pectin, the fruits are good for mixing with high-acid, low-pectin fruits for making jellies etc[3]. This species has a superior flavour to P. littorale longipes[6]. The fruit is about 4cm in diameter[4].

Plant part
Fruit

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Grown as a hedge in warm temperate climates[4].

Ecology and functions

Hedge

Environment

Range
S. America - Brazil.
Habitat
Not known
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 10+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow spring in a warm greenhouse. When large enough to handle, prick out the seedlings into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. If trying the plants outdoors, plant them out in the summer and give them some protection from winter cold for at least their first two winters. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Requires a well-drained sandy loam with leafmold[1]. Not very hardy in Britain, it is best grown in a greenhouse but it can tolerate short-lived light frosts[4] and therefore might succeed outdoors in the mildest areas of the country. Sometimes cultivated for its edible fruit.

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

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  3. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

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  4. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3

  5. Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-7153-5531-7

    ↩

  6. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

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