General Information

COMMON NAMES: Red Strawberry-Guava, Small Guava, Cherry Guava, Purple Strawberry-Guava, Cattley Guava; German Erdbeerguave; French Gouyave fraise, Goyavier-fraise TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tūava Papa‘ā (RR MT), Tuava Papa‘ā / Tūvava Papa‘ā (MG), Tuava Papa‘ā (MK), Tū‘ava Papa‘ā (AK); Other Polynesian - Tuava Popa‘a (TAH) GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Brazil; EXOTIC EXOTIC w.Indian Ocean; Melanesia - Polynesia; Florida COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; S.Group - common; N.Group - rare; Land, lowlands - mountains (+++) (to mid-elev.) SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food (Fruit 1+); Invasive - serious, Weed - moderate KEY FEATURES: Erect shrubby trees to 5m. BARK peeling. BRANCHLETS round. LEAVES opposite, simple, obovate, to 8x5cm, glossy dark green, edge smooth and downturned, tip drawn-out and round,, base acute to tapering; stalk ~8mm. FLOWERS axillary, 1-2; 15mmØ; petals and stamens white. FRUIT ~round, ~3cmØ, ripen glossy red to purplish-red, sepals persistent; pulp white; edible. SEEDS many, ~70. Varieties with yellow fruit [not recorded on Rarotonga]: (1) slender trees with wide-ovoid fruit; and (2) spreading trees with ~obconical fruit.

Cook Islands Distribution

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Southern Group: Present    Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++	+++	+	P	+	?	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	P	-	-	-	-

Psidium cattleianum Sabine, 1821
SYNONYMS: Psidium cattleianum var. littorale (O.Berg.) Fosb. [red fruit]; Psidium littorale Raddi, 1821

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Myrtales; MYRTACEAE. COMMENT: Psidium cattleianum and Psidium littorale were both described in 1821 - cattleianum from a British plant raised from seed from China and having a purplish-red fruit, and littorale from a Brazilian plant with a yellow fruit. Name-priority is usually given to cattleianum.

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Food (Fruit 1+)
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Invasive - serious, Weed - moderate. Comments: One of world's 100 invasive alien species [ISSG,2001].

Vouchers:
Atiu: fieldsight, Atiu Motel, 1 plant, large with fruit, no seedlings, 11/2000, ID GMcC.

References:
p.971 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.633 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.923 Hortus 3rd
p.948 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.460 Tropica
p.3/308 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.83 R Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.408d Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.104 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02, zupD05b

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