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Species
Psidium cattleianum var. littorale (O. Berg) Fosb.
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Psidium cattleianum, strawberry guava (also known as cattley or cherry guava), is a shrub or small tree in the Myrtaceae (myrtle family) native to eastern Brazil and now cultivated in tropical and semi-tropical areas worldwide for its fruit and as an ornamental. It has escaped cultivation and become a serious weed in various Indian and Pacific Ocean locations, and is considered the worst invasive plant species in Hawaii. The strawberry guava is similar in flavor and uses to guava (P. guajava), but is generally smaller (although considered to be more attractive). Other guava fruits that are commercially grown are the Costa Rican guava (P. friedrichsthalianum) and the Guinea guava (P. guineense).
P. cattleianum, which is sometimes classified as P. littorale, or P. cattleianum var. littorale, with “cattleyanum” as an alternative spelling often found in older literature) may be a shrub or many-branched small tree, with smooth brown bark and slender branches, which may reach heights of up to 12 m (39 ft), although typically growing to 2 to 4 m (6 to 13 ft). Some varieties are moderately frost-tolerant, and may be hardier than P. guava. The leaves are oval to elliptical, up to 4.5 cm (1.75 in) long, smooth and leathery to waxy, with prominent veins. The fragrant white flowers are tubular with 5 petals, and are larger than the leaves, to 6 cm (2.3 in) wide, and are either solitary or in clusters of 3 at the axils (where leaf meets stem). The fruits, which are produced when the plants are 3 to 6 years old, are round to somewhat oval, about the size of a walnut around 4 cm (1.5 in) long, with a thin skin that ripens to a color ranging from yellow (in var. lucidum) to dark red or purple, tipped by the remains of the calyx (somewhat like an apple or blueberry). The juicy flesh, which is white or yellow, has many soft seeds embedded in it.
The fruits, which are high in vitamin C, have a pleasantly sour taste, are often eaten fresh, or may be processed into jams, jellies, and juices, as well as ice creams and sorbets. Guava purées and pastes (made from boiling the fruit with sugar and water) are used as a filling in baked goods.
P. cattleianum has escaped cultivation and become a serious invader in Polynesia, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Norfolk Island, Australia, New Zealand, and various islands, as well as the U.S. states of Florida and Hawaii. It can invade even intact rainforests, and tends to grow in dense thickets (from both root suckers and seedlings) that shade and outcompete native plants. It is ranked as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
(Bailey et al. 1976, ISSG 2012, Morton 1987, PIER 2012, van Wyk 2005.)
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Rights holder/Author | Jacqueline Courteau, Jacqueline Courteau |
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Chile Central
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Rights holder/Author | Pablo Gutierrez, IABIN |
Source | No source database. |
Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked
Reasons: Native to South America; introduced in the United States in Florida and also in Hawaii. In Hawaii it is a major pest plant, with control measures extensively studied there.
Strawberry guava, also called purple guava and pineapple guava, is a shrub or small tree reaching up to 15 feet in height. It has a smooth trunk and dark green, shiny, egg-shaped leaves that are arranged oppositely on the stem. The aromatic leaves are 2-4 inches long and 1-2 inches wide. Strawberry guava flowers are white with numerous stamens (pollen-bearing structures) and the edible purple fruits are about the size of a golf ball. Some forms of this species have yellow fruits.
Restoration Potential: Information on recovery potential is anecdotal and limited. Tomich (pers. comm.) experimentally controlled strawberry guava in a 15 X 15 m site in an extensive dense guava stand on Hawaii Island from which essentially all native plants had been excluded. He found that after 10 years that native ferns, especially Athyrium sandwicensium, had become abundant in the understory and that a few native trees had become established. In Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Kalopa State Park, guava thickets were removed from the understory of native forest with an intact canopy (Tunison et al. in prep., Tomich, pers. comm.). These appeared to resist the invasion of other alien plant species, although the extent of native species recovery in unknown. Low recruitment levels of strawberry guava in sites with intact overstory and feral pigs control, even those surrounded by high densities of this weed, suggest high potential for the recovery of native vegetation.
Management Requirements: Active searching, distribution mapping, and control measures needed at Kamakou Preserve. Major control programs are needed in many preserves and parks in the state.
Diong (1983) demonstrated the effectiveness of feral pigs as dispersal agents. The obvious implication is that feral pig control is the first step in strawberry guava control and serves as a form of cultural control. However, it is not the only measure needed. Huenneke and Vitousek (1989) reported that soil disturbance does not encourage germination, and that most germinants were found on undisturbed sites normally supporting native plant establishment. Once strawberry guava is established, recruitment will continue without control efforts, even after pigs are removed (Tunison et al. in prep.)
Manual and mechanical control measures work reasonably well and are recommended where practical. Seedlings and saplings originating from seed can be uprooted. Stems up to two inches (basal diameter) can be uprooted with a weed wrench, although some roots may need to be cut once the plant is partly uprooted (Tomich, pers. comm.). Uprooted plants may resprout or re-root in areas with greater than 2000 mm of rain/year or drier areas after prolonged rain, especially if the plants are set on the ground. Manual and mechanical methods are less effective on root sprouts.
A number of effective chemical control measures have been developed. Strawberry guava is sensitive to picloram, dicamba, glyphosate, and triclopyr. Kageler and Eldredge (1985) found that undiluted picloram (Tordon 22K) was highly effective on strawberry guava as a cut stump treatment. Tordon 22K was used at Hawaii Volcanoes but discontinued because of unfavorable effects on non-target plants. It was replaced by Tordon RTU, which was nearly as effective, but less harmful to surrounding vegetation (Tunison et al. in prep.). Undiluted dicamba (Banvel) proved to be highly effective in a cut surface treatment (Arakaki et al. 1986). Mootoka et al. (1983) found undiluted glyphosate (Roundup) to be effective using a "hack and squirt" method. Cuddihy (pers. comm.) found undiluted triclopyr ester (Garlon 4) to be effective as a cut-stump treatment, with 80% of plants dead and 90% of treated plants without resprouts after 21 months. A frill application of undiluted triclopyr amine (Garlon 3A) was somewhat less effective, with 11 of 20 stems dead and all trees defoliated after 21 months. Fifty percent Garlon 4 and 3A were about 50% effective. A major drawback of cut-stump treatment methods in very wet areas (>5000 mm rainfall/yr) was resprouting of slash from cut stump and wood fragments from felling larger trees. Garlon is recommended because of its lack of mobility and relatively short half-life, 4-6 weeks. In addition, the research is more thorough and definitive on control methods for Garlon than other herbicides.
Biological control is the only feasible long-term management strategy for strawberry guava (Smith 1985). However, until recently, biological control has been perceived as unfeasible because common guava, grown commercially in Hawaii, is a congener of strawberry guava (Gardner and Davis 1982). Biological control is being reexamined. Hodges (1988) found several insects that defoliate strawberry guava in its natural range and felt that insect biological control agents could be found that did not attack common guava. He did not find any evidence of pathogens causing serious damage. Memoranda of agreement has been concluded between the University of Hawaii and two Brazilian Universities to locate species attacking strawberry guava and not common guava. It is thought that highly specific insect pests can be found because common guava and strawberry guava are sympatric in their natural range (Smith pers. comm.).
Management Programs: The major control programs in Hawaii are at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Special Ecological Areas (500 ha) (Tunison et al. in prep.) and Kalopa State Park (40 ha) (Tomich, pers. comm.). Strawberry guava has been ranked as a high priority weed species at Kamakou Preserve and control efforts have been initiated. Some control efforts have been made at Manuka Natural Area Reserve.
Monitoring Programs: Monitoring has been conducted at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to assess changes in cover and spread in the Park and population densities in managed areas. Weed control transects in Kamakou Preserve provide similar monitoring. Tomich (pers. comm.) is monitoring the recovery of an experimental control plot on the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii Island.
Management Research Programs: Huenneke and Vitousek (1989) are studying stem demography in five sites on Hawaii Island from 150-762 m elevation. Field work will be completed in 1991 after five years of study (Huenneke, pers. comm.).
Management Research Needs: Topics important to management of the species include clarifying the contribution of sprouts and seedlings, allelopathy, dispersal by rodents and birds, seed bank characteristics, germination site requirements, sprouting response of stems buried by litter, growth rates of stems, and onset of reproductive activity. This applies to management of strawberry guava throughout the state. No research is needed specifically for Kamakou Preserve. Biological control research needs are described separately.
Shrubs or trees, to 7 m tall. Bark grayish brown, smooth. Branchlets terete. Leaf blade elliptic to obovate, 5-10 × 2-4 cm, thickly leathery, both surfaces glabrous, secondary veins obscure, base cuneate, apex acute. Flowers axillary, solitary. Hypanthium obconiform. Calyx lobes 4 or 5, long ovate. Petals white, obovate, ca. 1 cm. Stamens shorter than petals. Ovary adnate to hypanthium, 4-loculed. Style slender; stigma peltate. Berry violet when mature, pyriform to globose, 2.5-4 cm; flesh white, yellow, or reddish. Fl. summer.
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=250073406 |
Stewardship Overview: Strawberry guava is a very serious habitat-disruptive pest in many parks and preserves in Hawaii because of its tendency to form mono-specific stands. It is a potential pest at Kamakou Preserve but not at Waikamoi, unless the preserve is expanded to lower elevations. Prolific fruiting, shade tolerance, clonal regenerative strategy, tolerance of heavy litter fall, and possible allelopathic effects contribute to the success of this species. Removal of feral pigs is the sine qua non and first step of successful management of strawberry guava because pigs disperse prodigious quantities of seed. This must be followed by manual, mechanical, and chemical control measures. These have proven successful when tested on a small scale, and recruitment is low in pig-free intact forest, even with dispersal into the treated area from densely infested adjacent areas. Biological control is the long-term management solution to strawberry guava, and the prospect of locating highly specific biocontrol agents is cause for optimism about the future of biological control for this pest. Clarification of the recovery process is the single most important monitoring need.
Management and monitoring needs at Kamakou consist of feral pig control, scouting and mapping to locate all individuals, manual, mechanical, and chemical control measures, and vigilant monitoring of reinvasion and seedling recruitment.
Species Impact: Psidium cattleianum readily displaces native plant species, eventually forming single species stands. Smith (1985) characterized it as the worst pest in Hawaiian rain forests. Its most serious infestations are on Hawai`i Island when it invades forests undergoing `ohi`a dieback and in Kipuhulu Valley on Maui (Hodges 1988). It is probably not a serious threat to Waikamoi because Psidium appears to be limited by elevation, with essentially no individuals above 1,300 m. Waikamoi's boundaries are currently above this elevation. Psidium now is sparingly established in disturbed areas, principally roadsides, in Kamakou Preserve. It is intensifying in forest reserves at lower elevation, and may represent an important potential threat to Kamakou. Using Jacobi's and Warshauer's model (Jacobi and Warshauer, in press), all of Kamakou falls within the potential habitat of strawberry guava, based on current elevational and rainfall characteristics of strawberry guava habitat. However, suitable forest habitat near the ridge line lies at the extremes of the rainfall and elevational gradients and may not be optimal habitat for strawberry guava.
Habit: Shrub
Strawberry guava is a very serious, habitat-altering pest in many parks and preserves in Hawaii where it poses a major threat to Hawaii's rare endemic flora and fauna. It forms shade-casting thickets with dense mats of surface feeder roots that make it difficult for other species to coexist. Characteristics that promote strawberry guava's success as an invader include its prolific fruiting and aggressive vegetative growth, its tolerance of shade and heavy leaf litter, and possibly through production of toxic chemicals in its leaves that prevent the growth of other plant species.
Guajava cattleyana (Sabine) Kuntze; Psidium littorale Raddi; P. variabile O. Berg.
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=250073406 |