841

Psidium guajava L.

Synonym	:	Psidium angustifolium Lam.
Family	:	Myrtaceae
Local name	:	English - Guava, Guajava Malayalam - Pera, Perakka
Flowering and fruiting period	:	March-May
Distribution	:	Originally from Tropical America; now naturalised in the tropics
Distribution in Kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Cultivated
IUCN Status	:	Least concerned
Endemic/Exotic	:	Exotic
Uses	:	It is used to treat inflammation, diabetes, hypertension, caries, wounds, pain relief, fever, diarrhoea, rheumatism, lung diseases and ulcers.
Key Botanical Characters: Small trees; stem smooth with pealing bark; young stem 4-angled. Leaves simple, opposite, elliptic-oblong, apex acute-apiculate, base rounded to obtuse-cuneate. Cymes axillary, 1-3-flowered; pedicel short or 0. Calyx tube ovoid, densely hirsute; lobes 4, united and closed in bud. Petals 4, white, broadly ovate, caducous. Stamens many. Ovary globose, many-celled; ovules numerous; style subulate. Berry globose crowned by persistent calyx lobes; seeds many, embedded in fleshy pulp.