Skip to main content

Common guava (Psidium guajava)

Jambu biji or jambu batu or stone guava or common guava (Psidium guajava) is a plant species in Myrtaceae, a small tree with upright stems and sympodial branches, 2-10 m tall, many branches, smooth bark, greenish brown, flowering throughout the year, growing in the tropics at altitudes up to 1200 m and very adaptive.

P. guajava has young rectangular-shaped stems and old hard woody stems. The surface of the trunk is slippery with a thin layer of skin and is easily peeled off. When the bark is exfoliated, the inside of the stem is green.

Dlium Common guava (Psidium guajava)

The leaves have a single structure and give off a distinctive aroma when squeezed, sitting cross-linked with the position facing and bones pinned. The shape of the leaf varies influenced by genetics and environment including oval, taper and inverted egg rounds.

Flowers have greenish white pistils with lobed head shapes. Polyandrous stamens, 0.5-1.2 cm long and white with a cream-colored head. Each flower has 180-600 stamens which the greater the diameter of the flower the more the number of stamens.

Single fruit is very dense and heavy, edible, thin skin and smooth to rough surface. Fruits have many variations for shape, size, color and taste, depending on the variety. Small and hard seeds grow in the middle of the fruit.

Fruits contain vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, calcium and phosphorus. The content of vitamin C is five times more than oranges. The fruit also contains saponins with oleanolic, Morin-3-O-α-Llyxopyranoside, morin-3-O-α-L-arabopyraoside and flavonoids, guaijavarin and quercetin.







Fruit skin contains 56-600 mg of ascorbic acid, while leaves contain flavonoids, tannins, ellagic acid, triterpenoids, guiajaverin, quercetin and other chemical compounds. Tree bark contains 12-30% tannins or polyphenols, resins and calcium oxalate crystals.

Roots are also rich in tannins, leukocyanidins, sterols and gallic acid. Twigs contain calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium. Fluoride concentrations range from 0.02-0.11 ppm, copper (0.02-0.14 ppm), iron (2.86-5.14 ppm), zinc (0.31-0.57 ppm), manganese ( 0.00-0.26 ppm) and lead (0.00-0.11 ppm).

The fruit is usually eaten fresh, processed into various forms of food and drinks, treatments including improving digestion, lowering cholesterol, antioxidants, relieving fatigue and lethargy, dengue fever and canker sores. Ethanol extract of leaves as an antioxidant.

Leaves for anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal, analgesic, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, reduce fever, increase platelets and inhibit the growth of rotavirus. Bark and roots to cure dysentery, vaginal discharge, thrush, ringworm, inflammation of the stomach, swollen gums and sunburned skin.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Subfamily: Myrtoideae
Tribe: Myrteae
Genus: Psidium
Species: Psidium guajava
Varieties: Psidium guajava var. cujavillum, Psidium guajava var. guajava, Psidium guajava var. minor.

Popular Posts

Pygmy groundcherry (Physalis minima)

Ceplukan or pygmy groundcherry ( Physalis minima ) is a plant species in the Solanaceae, a pantropical perennial herb, 50 cm high, green in color, grows in wet or semi-wet areas, the fruit is edible and has a pleasant taste, is often used as an anti-cancer, analgesic and anti-inflammatory. P. minima has an erect trunk with many branches, is square with sharp angles, 20-50 cm high, bright green and juicy. The branching produces two or three new stems and becomes the point for producing leaves and fruit. The leaves have a smooth surface, hairless, plain or serrated edges, 2.5-12 cm long, light green color and pointed tips. The stalk is long and continues to be a bone in the center of the leaf with some lateral veins. Bell-shaped flowers with five corners, cream to yellow in color with brown plots on the inside and white pistils. The fruit is yellowish green and packed in a thin covering that turns brown and falls to the ground when ripe. Pygmy groundcherry grows wild in forest edges, ...

Redflower ragleaf (Crassocephalum crepidioides)

Sintrong or ebolo or thickhead or redflower ragleaf ( Crassocephalum crepidioides ) are plant species in Asteraceae, terma height 25-100 cm, white fibrous roots, generally grow wild on the roadside, yard gardens or abandoned lands at altitude 200- 2500 m. C. crepidioides has erect or horizontal stems along the soil surface, vascular, soft, non-woody, shallow grooves, green, rough surface and short white hair, aromatic fragrance when squeezed. Petiole is spread on stems, tubular and eared. Single leaf, spread out, green, 8-20 cm long, 3-6 cm wide, longitudinal or round inverted eggshell with a narrow base along the stalk. Pointed tip, flat-edged or curved to pinnate, jagged rough and pointed. The top leaves are smaller and often sit. Compound flowers grow throughout the year in humps that are arranged in terminal flat panicles and androgynous. Green cuffs with orange-brown to brick-red tips, cylindrical for 13-16 mm long and 5-6 mm wide. The crown is yellow with a brownish red...

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

BLOG - On October 28, 2004, a paper was published in Nature describing the dwarf hominin we know today as Homo floresiensis that has shocked the world. The report changed the geographical landscape of early humans that previously stated that the Pleistocene Asia was only represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . The report titled "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia" written by Peter Brown and Mike J. Morwood from the University of New England with Thomas Sutikna, Raden Pandji Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo and Rokus Awe Due from the National Archaeology Research Institute (ARKENAS), Indonesia, presents more diversity in the genus Homo. “Immediately, my fever vanished. I couldn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t wait for sunrise. In the early morning we went to the site, and when we arrived in the cave, I didn’t say a thing because both my mind and heart couldn’t handle this incredible moment. I just went down...