Phil Bendle Collection:Psidium cattleyanum (Strawberry guava)

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Psidium
Species: P. cattleyanum
Binomial name: Psidium cattleyanum
Synonyms: Episyzygium oahuense, Eugenia ferruginea, Eugenia oxygona, Eugenia pseudovenosa, Eugenia urceolata, Guajava cattleiana, Guajava obovate, Psidium ferrugineum, Psidium indicum,
Psidium littorale, Psidium obovatum, Psidium variabile
Common name: Strawberry guava, Cattley guava, Purple guava, Cherry guava

Psidium cattleyanum is a small tree in the Myrtaceae (myrtle) family. It is native range is restricted to the Amazonian Basin in Brazil but it is now found throughout the tropics and in some temperate countries. It is considered the most invasive plant in Hawaii. In New Zealand it has the potential to become a major weed problem taking over native forests creating dense thickets that crowd out sunlight, limiting the potential for other plant species to coexist. It seeds are spread by birds and animals such as possums, pigs, rats and livestock. It also spreads by cloning. Psidium cattleyanum has potential allelopathic qualities (it has a harmful effect on other plants) that further complicate the ability of other plant species to coexist.

Psidium cattleyanum is a small, highly-branched tree that reaches a height of about 2- 6 meters. The trunk has smooth, grey to reddish-brown bark.
The leaves are hairless, oval to elliptical (40-80 x 25-45 mm) and are in opposite pairs on the stems. They are a glossy dark green above and are dotted with glands beneath.
Its flowers grow either individually or in clusters of three, and each flower has five petals.
Solitary white flowers up to 10 mm in diameter appear during June to March. 
The tree’s fruit which contains numerous seeds is a 2 cm round, purple berry (occasionally whitish).

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Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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