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

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...

Javanese grasshopper (Valanga nigricornis)

Wooden grasshopper or Javanese grasshopper ( Valanga nigricornis ) is an animal species of Acrididae, grasshoppers that have at least 18 subspecies, insects with very wide diversity in color and size, sexual dimorphism in which females are larger in size and paler in color. V. nigricornis in males has a length of 45-55 millimeters and females 15-75 mm. The head is square and green or yellow or brown or black in color. A pair of antennas has a black color. The eyes are large and gray or white or brownish. The hind legs are very large and have a green or yellow or brown or black color, plain or brindle. The limbs have two rows of large and long spines with black tips facing backward. The wings have a length exceeding the belly, a rough surface and are brown or green or yellow or black in color with pulse lines forming spaces filled with black color. The hind wings are rose red which will be visible when flying. Nymphs are pale green or yellow or brown or blackish in color. Javanese gr...