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Clicking any heading in the main data area (at right) will scroll the page back to this top position. Use the following links to jump to the associated section in the main data. Boring Carving Comments Common Names Common Uses Countries of Distribution Cutting Resistance Distribution Overview Drying Defects Ease of Drying Environmental Profile Family Name Grain Heartwood Color Luster Mortising Moulding Natural Durability Numerical Data Planing Product Sources References Regions of Distribution Resistance to Impregnation Response to Hand Tools Routing & Recessing Sanding Sapwood Color Scientific Name Steam Bending Strength Properties Texture Trade Name Tree Size Turning Veneering Qualities Scientific Name Psidium guajava Trade Name Guava Family Name Myrtaceae Common Names A'sihui't, Abas, Al-pil-ca, Araza, Araza puita, Arrayan, Arrayana, Banjiro, Bec, Bjui, Cambuny, Chac-pichi, Chalxocotl, Common guava, Enandi, Gobiabiera, Goeajaaba, Goejaba, Goiaba, Gouyave, Goyave, Goyavier, Goyavier a fruits, Gua-ibasim, Guabang, Guafin, Guahva, Guava, Guave, Guayaba, Guayaba perulera, Guayabo, Guayabo cotorrera, Guayabo dulce, Guayava, Guyaba, Hurapo, Kuabang, Kuahpa, La'aru, Luma, Mo'i, Mo-eyi, Ni-joh, Pata, Pehui, Pichi, Pino-oregon, Pocs-cuy, Pojosh, Posh, Posh-keip, Sambadan, Vayeva-vaxi-te, Wild guava, Xoxococuahuitl, Yaga-huii Regions of Distribution Central America, Latin America, North America, Oceania and S.E. Asia Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP] Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadelope [France], Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, United States Common Uses Charcoal, Construction, Fuelwood, Handles: general, Medicinal use, Tool handles, Turnery Environmental Profile Widespread, abundant, and globally secure Data source is Nature Conservancy Distribution Overview The growth range of reported to include Florida, and Hawaii. A native of tropical America from southern Mexico to South America, its range is greatly extended through cultivation. The species has been planted and naturalized also in southern Florida, including the Florida Keys, Bermuda, and throughout West Indies from Bahamas and Cuba to Trinidad, and south to Brazil. It also grows in Puerto Rioco, chiefly on the coastal plains, but also in the lower mountain regions. Guava is also found in Africa, Asia, and Europe after being introduced by European adventurers, traders, and missionaries. Heartwood Color White Brown Yellow Black Purple Greenish to greyish Brown Sapwood Color Green/Grey Brown Yellow White Grain Even Straight Straight Texture Coarse Medium Fine Luster Medium Natural Durability Perishable Moderately durable Non-durable Non durable Drying Defects Checking Distortion Ease of Drying Gum Exudation Fairly Easy Tree Size Tree height is 20-30 m Product Sources Guava is known more for its fruits and other parts of the tree than its timber. The fruits are highly popular in many tropical countries. Known as Guayaba in Spanish-speaking countries and Goiaba in Brazil, the fruts are either consumed fresh or processed into drinks, ice cream, and preserves. In Brazil, Guava fruit is part of a very popular desert called Romeo and Juliette, which consists of a slice of firm Guava paste topped with a slice of white cheese. Comments Has a veriety of uses Traditionally, the tree is planted in gardens where it provides shades to allow other plants, such as medicinals to thrive beneath. It thrives on a variety of soils, propagates easily bears fruits quickly, and has spread widely in warm tropical areas with moderate to heavy rainfall. Seeds can produce a mature plant within four years, and like many tropical fruit trees, Guava has numerous uses. The Dutch used parts of the tree to cure illnesses, and its native Latin America, Guava leaves are chewed to treat mouth sores, while the bark is boiled to produce medicine to cure dysentery. In Mexico, the leaves are used to relieve itching, while in Central Africa and Southeast Asia, tannin from the bark and leaves are used for various medicinal purposes Boring Fair to good results Fairly easy to very easy Carving Fair to Good Results Cutting Resistance Easy to saw Mortising Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Moulding Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Planing Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Resistance to Impregnation Permeable heartwood Permeable sapwood Response to Hand Tools Responds Readily Easy to machine Routing & Recessing Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Sanding Fair to Good Results Turning Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Veneering Qualities Veneers moderately easy Veneers easily Steam Bending Very Good to Excellent Results Strength Properties Max. crushing strength = high Hardness (side grain) = hard Bending strength (MOR) = high Numerical Data Item Green Dry English Bending Strength 13576 20956 psi Hardness 2318 lbs Maximum Crushing Strength 6899 9945 psi Item Green Dry Metric Bending Strength 954 1473 kg/cm2 Hardness 1051 kg References Brockman, F.C. and R. Merrilees. 1986. Trees of North America - A Guide to Field Identification. Revised Version. Herbert S. Zim, editor. Published by the Golden Press, New York. E.H. Walker,1954,Important Trees of the Ryukyu Islands,United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands Special Bulletin,No. 3 Fors, A.J.,1965,Maderas Cubanas,Inst. Nac. Ref. Agraria La Habara Little, E.L., Wadsworth, F.H.,1964,Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands,U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook,No.249 Little, E.L.,1948,A Collection of Tree Specimens from Western Ecuador,Caribbean Forester,9(3,pp215-98 Pennington, T.D., Sarukhan, J.,1968,Manual para la Identificacion de campo de los Principales Arboles,Tropicales de Mexico,Inst. Nac. Inv. For. Mexico Purseglove, J.W. 1968. Tropical Crops - Dicotyledon 1. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York. Reyes, L.J. 1938. Philippine Woods. Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Technical Bulletin 7, Commonwealth of the Philippines, Bureau of Printing, Manila. Sallenave, P.,1955,Proprietes Phyiques et Mecaniques des Bois Tropicaux de l'Union Francaise,C.T.F.T Schiffino, J.,1945,Riqueza Forestal Dominicana (Three volumes,Secretaria de Estado de Agric. Ind. y Trabajo Smith, N.J.H, J.T. Williams, D.L. Plucknett and J.P. Talbot. 1992. Tropical Forests and their Crops. Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press, Ithaca. Williams, L. 1936. Woods of Northeastern Peru. Field Museum of Natural History, Botanical Series, Volume XV, Publication 377, Chicago.