Tropical Wild Edibles - Strawberry Guava

Botanical name: Psidium cattleyanum

Common names: Strawberry Guava, Cheery Guava, Chinese Guava, Cattley Guava (named after British horticulturalist William Cattley).

Family: Myrtaceae

Physical appearance: A small, evergreen tree generally growing to between 2 and 6 metres in height but potentially reaching 13 metres in height. It has smooth bark which is reddish brown in colour and peels relatively easily. Its leaves are oval and grow to about 5cm in length. The tree begins fruiting at between 3 – 6 years of age. The thin skinned fruit varies in colour from yellow to a deep red or purple. The Guava has small, white flowers with five petals. The flowers are approximately 25mm in length/width.

Natural habitat: Native to South-America but is now naturalised or invasive in many places around the world. Each Guava fruit contains up to 70 seeds which are distributed by birds and mammals.

Point of interest: The strawberry guava is a tasty, sweet fruit that can be raw and is high in vitamin C.

Uses: Largely consumed as a fruit in its raw form. The fruit can be further processed to make juices, desserts, spirits and culinary.

Photos courtesy of

By Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3440825