Feijoa

Attractive evergreen shrub/small tree with silvery-green foliage, showy red and white flowers with prominent stamens. Excellent for edible landscaping, privacy hedges, windbreaks, and ornamental specimens. Tolerates coastal conditions and provides multi-season interest with spring flowers and fall fruit.

Fruit rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, and dietary fiber. Traditional uses include digestive aid and immune system support. Leaves sometimes used for tea preparations. Fruit pulp contains antimicrobial compounds and may help regulate blood sugar levels. Skin contains beneficial flavonoids.

Fruit eaten fresh when soft, with sweet-tart flavor reminiscent of pineapple, guava, and mint. Flesh scooped from halved fruit or skin eaten whole. Used in jams, jellies, chutneys, smoothies, and baked goods. Flowers are edible with sweet petals. Fruit can be stored refrigerated for several weeks.

Native to South American highlands (Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina). Attracts birds and bees with nectar-rich flowers. Birds disperse seeds. Provides habitat for small wildlife. Drought-tolerant once established. Grows in various soil types but prefers well-drained conditions. Cold hardy to about -10°C.

Evergreen shrub/tree 3-7m tall. Leaves opposite, oval, 3-7cm long, glossy green above, silvery-white beneath. Bark light gray, attractively mottled. Flowers 3-4cm, with 4 fleshy petals (white outside, purplish inside) and prominent red stamens. Fruit oval, green, 4-7cm long with persistent calyx.

Wood is hard, dense, and fine-grained but rarely used commercially due to small tree size. Occasionally used for small turnery items, tool handles, or craft work. More valuable as living fence posts or windbreak than timber source. Wood has attractive pinkish color when fresh cut.

Also called pineapple guava or guavasteen. Named after João da Silva Feijó, a Portuguese botanist. Petals taste like cotton candy. Some cultivars are self-fertile while others require cross-pollination. In New Zealand, feijoas are so popular they're considered an unofficial national fruit. Fruit drops when ripe, making harvest easy.