Common name: Guavaberry

Guavaberry is one of the names given to this fruiting shrub or small tree originating in tropical America, its natural range extending from Cuba to the Eastern Caribbean and from Central America to northern parts of South America. 

It may reach heights of up to 17 m (55 ft) with a trunk diameter of 30 cm (1 ft), though is more commonly 5 to 10 m (16 to 33 ft) tall with a low-branching, short trunk supporting a densely leafy rounded crown. The bark is light grey or pale brown, mottled and flaking, revealing orange-brown under-bark.

Leaves lance-shaped, up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long, dull green on top, pale green underneath and with a leathery texture. They are arranged in pairs along the branch ends and remain on the tree throughout the year.

The flowers are small and insignificant, funnel-shaped with four white petals on the rim and with many white filaments arising at the centre. They are borne at the leaf bases, in clusters of only a few and come into bloom in the rainy season.

Fertilised flowers are followed by small round fruit, about 1 cm (0.4 in) in diameter that are green when young, becoming orange or dark red when ripe, depending on the variety. They ripen in the dry winter season, coinciding with the festive Christmas season in its native range, and have aromatic yellow-orange pulp surrounding one or more roundish seed. 

Use

The unripe fruit are very sour, becoming less sour to sweet when ripe and are used as a flavouring in drinks and foods. They are made into jams and jellies, homemade fruit drinks, incorporated in baked goods such as cakes and pastries but are mainly used in flavouring a local alcoholic liqueur. 

Known as 'Guavaberry Liqueur', it is made by steeping the whole fruit in rum and brown sugar in large vats and then straining and ageing this mixture in wooden barrels. The finished product is a dark red liqueur with a distinctive wood, fruity, bitter-sweet flavour. It is often used in mixed drinks and cocktails served in the Caribbean.

Honeybees can be observed working the flowers but there does not appear to be much information on the plant's usefulness to honey production.

General interest

Guavaberry liqueur was first made by the Danish, who colonised the Virgin Islands in the 19th century.

Climate

Grows naturally in sub-humid to moderately humid subtropical and tropical climates, generally frost-free areas with annual lows of 19 to 25°C, annual highs of 25 to 35°C, annual rainfall of 600 to 2000 mm and a dry season of 2 to 8 months. 

This climate profile does not include cold-tolerant sub-species or varieties reported to originate in south-east Brazil, which occur there at elevations of up to 1800 m (5900 ft).

Growing

New plants are usually grown from seed. However, seedlings are slow-growing and only start flowering and fruiting when around six to eight years old. Vegetative propagation, using air-layering (circumposing) techniques is worth trying, given that it is used successfully to produce new Guava (Psidium guajava) plants, a close relative of the Guavaberry.

Performs best on free-draining loam and sand soils of a moderately acid to alkaline nature, generally with a pH of 5.5 to 8.5, and on sites with full to partial sun exposure. Guavaberry has good tolerance to drought, limestone soils and salt spray conditions.

Problem features

Birds are known to visit the tree and feed on the fruit. However, there does not appear to be any record of it anywhere as a weed or invasive species.

Books

• Barwick, M., et al. 2004, Tropical & subtropical trees : a worldwide encyclopaedic guide, Thames and Hudson, London

• Kirk, T. K. 2009, Tropical trees of Florida and the Virgin Islands : a guide to identification, characteristics and uses, 1st ed, Pineapple Press, Sarasota, Florida

• Little, E. L. 1974, Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Vol. 2, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Washington D.C.

• Lorenzi, H. 2006, Brazilian fruits & cultivated exotics (for consuming in natura), Instituto Plantarum de Estudos da Flora, Nova Odessa, San Paulo

• Martin, F. M., et al. 1987, Perennial edible fruits of the tropics : an inventory, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, D.C.

• Morton, J. F. & Dowling, C. F. 1987, Fruits of warm climates, Creative Resources Systems, Winterville, North Carolina

• Parkinson, R. 1999, Culinaria : The Caribbean a culinary discovery, 1st. ed, Koìln: koìnemann, Germany

• Randall, R. P. 2007, The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status, Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management, Glen Osmond, South Australia

• Reyes, G. 1992, Wood densities of tropical tree species, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station, New Orleans, Louisiana