tasting psidium australe for the first time

[huertasurbanas]

Hi, today I found a fallen fruit of psidium australe ("araçá do folha marrom" http://www.colecionandofrutas.org/psidiumaustrale.htm), a myrtaceae from the north of Argentina and South of Brazil, it was into the pot of the 1m tall tree, that has many fruits on it and it's flowering and flowering again.

It had fruit fly's worms inside, but the flavour was so good, even the skin is tart but I liked it. It remembered me to guava jam, acid and sweet.

It's like eating the excelent perfume of a tropical guava (that, in my experience, tropical guavas doesnt taste like the smell and they are not acid). In this case, it tastes just like it smells, wonderful and acid.

I gave it to try to my brother and he really liked it too (he said it's similar to strawberries). I think it's a fruit that could be a comercial crop easily.

I like tropical guavas, strawberry guava and yellow SG, but this one to me is "better": it has de acidity of a strawberry guava and the taste of the smell of the tropical guavas, so to me it's just perfect.

I read the report from Miguel.pt some months ago and I agree it's a keeper (http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=18484.msg230765#msg230765), but the taste, in my case, is similar to the tropical guavas (in the sense that it tastes as the smell of them)

It's a bit strange to me that Helton didnt wrote anything about its good taste.

[fsanchez2002]

Huertas that's a great report on paustrale. I have a couple of young seedlings of paustrale and love psidium so I love to hear you think the flavor is good. How long did it take your tree to have fruit? Does anyone know if there's a lot of  variation between different seedlings of paustrale like there is with other like pguajava?

[huertasurbanas]

Huertas that's a great report on paustrale. I have a couple of young seedlings of paustrale and love psidium so I love to hear you think the flavor is good. How long did it take your tree to have fruit? Does anyone know if there's a lot of  variation between different seedlings of paustrale like there is with other like pguajava?

Thanks for your words, Im happy to know that you are growing it! The flavour is very good, it took maybe 3 years to fruit, growing fast from the 2nd year.
There should be variation, for instance, the fruits from Miguel.pt are smoother.

I took some photos of mine:





The smell of flowers is just like guava's



The white powder everywere is diatomeas, I am trying with it to avoid the fruit fly... (http://www.fertilizantesecoforce.es/2015/08/tratamiento-mosca-de-la-fruta-con-tierra-de-diatomeas/)

[Solko]

Hi Huertas, those are beautiful plants, congratulations 

Do you remember how long it took for the seeds to germinate? Miguel has sent me some three months ago, and nothing has come up yet... Maybe they need a period of drought, or cold before they germinate?

Thanks for the report and the pictures. They really look like something between a strawberry guava and a feijoa.

[gnappi]

WOW! This is the first time I've heard of diatomaceous earth being used as a pesticide. Very cool, I'm looking into experimenting on my guava also.

[huertasurbanas]

Hi Huertas, those are beautiful plants, congratulations 

Do you remember how long it took for the seeds to germinate? Miguel has sent me some three months ago, and nothing has come up yet... Maybe they need a period of drought, or cold before they germinate?

Thanks for the report and the pictures. They really look like something between a strawberry guava and a feijoa.

Yea, it looks like feijoas bur leaves are bigger, also you could say that the taste it's like a perfect mix between feijoa and guava, as it has the acidity of a feijoa, and the taste of the guava smell.

I didnt sowed this plant: I obtained it from an exchange when it was 1 years old and 30cm tall. But I will find out how long does it takes to germinate very soon, as I sowed all the 8 seeds of that fruit

[huertasurbanas]

WOW! This is the first time I've heard of diatomaceous earth being used as a pesticide. Very cool, I'm looking into experimenting on my guava also.

2% diatomeas, 98% water

[Grapebush]

Do you remember how long it took for the seeds to germinate? Miguel has sent me some three months ago, and nothing has come up yet... Maybe they need a period of drought, or cold before they germinate?

My experience with guava seeds, says they usualy take quite a long time to sprout; it might be faster or slower depending on the soil temperature and humidity, but usualy, never less than 2 months, and sometimes it can extend for about 5 months. So be patient, and maybe now that the temperatures start going up in Europe, you might get a nice surprise, with Spring arrival.

Good luck with them.
Nélio.

[fsanchez2002]

Huertas that's a great report on paustrale. I have a couple of young seedlings of paustrale and love psidium so I love to hear you think the flavor is good. How long did it take your tree to have fruit? Does anyone know if there's a lot of  variation between different seedlings of paustrale like there is with other like pguajava?

Thanks for your words, Im happy to know that you are growing it! The flavour is very good, it took maybe 3 years to fruit, growing fast from the 2nd year.
There should be variation, for instance, the fruits from Miguel.pt are smoother.

I took some photos of mine:





The smell of flowers is just like guava's



The white powder everywere is diatomeas, I am trying with it to avoid the fruit fly... (http://www.fertilizantesecoforce.es/2015/08/tratamiento-mosca-de-la-fruta-con-tierra-de-diatomeas/)

Thanks for the photos. I'm really excited about the flavor of the fruit being like the scent of guava. That sounds excellent. I personally think that's one of the most delicious scents in fruits, but you're right that the average guava doesn't really have that flavor just the scent.

[huertasurbanas]

Thanks for the photos. I'm really excited about the flavor of the fruit being like the scent of guava. That sounds excellent. I personally think that's one of the most delicious scents in fruits, but you're right that the average guava doesn't really have that flavor just the scent.

well, I just tasted 1 fruit and it was excelent, but I should confirm that taste in the next ones, and I hope they will not be attacked by med fruit fly... I will report

[Solko]

Thanks Huertas and Nelio for your replies.
I was a bit worried, because it was freezing here when the seeds were sent and although they stayed only half a day in my mail box, I wasn't sure if they survived or not. But I will be patient 

[huertasurbanas]

Today I tasted a second one, yesterday I was near the tree and I touched a fruit and it fell, but it was hard... maybe too unripe, so I waited and this morning it was soft to the touch.

It didnt had worms inside, I believe that the diatomeas method is working for this.

Very good too, but maybe it was a bit unripe, this time I feel the flavour of a tropical guava more notably, but the skin doesnt smell strong, I almost cant smell the perfume if I dont cut the fruit, then it's wonderful.

It had only 4 seeds. I think the size would be bigger if I plant it on the ground.









About the smell of the fruit once opened: my wife feel that it smells like pineapple, I feel grapefruit+guava

[huertasurbanas]

Hi again, the plant produced 8 more fruits on winter and I tasted a maybe overripe one: it was so so so so so similar to a strawberry (and to strawberry guava, but I liked it more), I cant believe it... maybe we should wait till all of them are yellowish green and soft to the touch.

[huertasurbanas]

 the one that I tought it was psidium australe is in fact an hybrid, maybe P. guineense x P. grandifolium (Leslie Landrum told me that): frost resistance is the same and the species grows in the same region as psidium australe. A rare one! Pulp is firmer / crunchier, less gelatinous than that of the common psidium guineense and the taste is sweeter. The plant seems very similar to what you see on the internet in terms of psidium grandifolium.