Psidium galapageium

Psidium galapageium, the Galápagos guava or guayabillo, is a small tree or shrub found in tropical areas, formerly endemic to the Galápagos Islands.[1]

Psidium galapageium
Psidium galapageium plant
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Psidium
Species:
P. galapageium
Binomial name
Psidium galapageium
Hook. f.

Description

Psidium galapageium is either a small tree or shrub that ranges up to 8 m (26 ft) in height and up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in diameter, with smooth, pinkish-grey bark. It has wide-spreading branches with dotted grey branchlets with reddish to white or yellowish "trichomes" or hairs. The branchlets tend to become more smooth at the edges and the bark more stringy, and the terminal branchlets and leaves are sometimes covered with a scurfy reddish bloom.[2]

Its leaves are opposite and elliptic to ovate, with the tips of the leaves being acute to acuminate. The base of the leaf is narrowly cuneate and is decurrent on the stalk of the leaf. The entire leaf is glabrous and is generally darker on the upper face and paler on the other side. The leaves are generally 21–54 mm (0.83–2.13 in) long and 9–26 mm (0.35–1.02 in) wide, and the petioles, or leaf stalks, are generally 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) long.[2]

The buds of Psidium galapageium are pear-shaped or "pyriform" and connected to the base of the branchlet, extending about 1–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) out. The bud is glabrous except for a minute hole at the apex with a few trichomes protruding 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) outward.[2]

Flowers of Psidium galapageium are white, occur on branches of recent growth, and are relatively small, being 1–1.5 cm (0.39–0.59 in) in diameter. Its berries are spherical in shape and are glabrous except for ripples created from glands in the berries. The berries are yellow when mature and turn black or a reddish-brown when dried. They are 6–13 mm (0.24–0.51 in) in diameter and the "pericarp", or wall of the berry is about 1 mm (0.039 in) thick. The seeds are angular, dark, and 5 mm (0.20 in) long, and each locule contains several.[2]

Habitat and ecology

Psidium galapageium is formerly endemic to the Galápagos Islands, being found on the islands Fernandina, Isabella, Pinta, Santa Cruz, and Santiago, but has since spread to other tropical areas. It now occurs from central Mexico and Florida to Paraguay and central Brazil, as well as it was introduced widely in tropical Africa and locally in India.[3] It typically grows in arid lowlands and moist uplands.[4]

Uses

The berries of Psidium galapageium are edible, reportedly with a slight taste of turpentine,[5] and geese are reported to frequently consume the berries.[2] The wood of the tree is used locally in the Galápagos Islands as fencing or a building material, but is not very hardy nor enduring.[6]

References
  1. John C. Kricher (2006) Galápagos: A Natural History p. 34
  2. Duncan M. Porter (1968) Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden: Psidium (Myrtaceae) in the Galapagos Islands Vol. 55, No. 3, p. 368-371
  3. Ira Loren Wiggins, Duncan M. Porter, Edward F. Anderson (1971) Flora of the Galápagos Islands p. 706-710
  4. Conley K. McMullen (1991) Flowering Plants of the Galápagos p. 83
  5. Botanical label given by Ericsson (1947)
  6. Julian Fitter, Daniel Fitter, David Hosking (2002) Wildlife of the Galápagos: Second Edition
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