A Very Common Super Fruit

Guava is a delicious, highly nutritious and tropical fruit whose cultivation is done across several tropical and subtropical regions, up to 1500 m above mean sea level.

- Swarnendu Biswas

However, its growth is rare in temperate climates. The fruit is the product of Psidium guajava tree, belonging to the Myrtle family. Psidium guajava is also the botanical name of the guava fruit.

The Character and Origin

The size of guava fruits varies between 1.4 to 4.7 inches in diameter. They are shaped round or oval depending on the species. The colour of the unripen guavas are usually green, but the colour of ripen guava can be green, yellow, yellowish green, maroon or red.

The pulp inside a ripe guava is usually sweet with slight sour taste infused into it. The pulp can be white or deep pink in colour and the central pulp of the fruit being dotted with numerous seeds. Apple guava and its cultivars are the most popular form of guava species featuring in international trade.

The history of guava can easily be extended to our pre-historic times. It had been consumed and cultivated by humankind since time immemorial. Besides human beings, many birds and animals also enjoy guava.

The origins of guava cannot be pinpointed with accuracy, but roughly it can be traced to an area ranging from southern Mexico to Central America, and from there its popularity spread to South America and the Caribbean region. The fruit’s usage was later spread to tropical and sub-tropical Asia, and tropical Africa. The Spanish explorers found guava in South America in the beginning of the 16th century. Soon the sweet and slightly sour taste of ripe guavas started getting spread across the world. The US got acquainted with guava in the early nineteenth century.

The Indian Connection

Among all the countries of the world, India has the highest guava production, annually, followed by China. Thailand, Pakistan and Mexico are other important guava producing countries in the world.