{{Short description|Species of plant in the myrtle family}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2025}} {{Speciesbox | image = Goiaba-serrana, ou guarobi (do guarani 'fruto verde'), Feijoa sellowiana, em Bagé, RS, Brasil - 55238473195.jpg | image_caption = Ripe fruits in Brazil | image2 = Acca sellowiana-IMG 0248.jpg | image2_caption = Foliage and flowers | image_alt = Flowers with many red stamens tipped with yellow anthers, petals white with pink streaks | image2_alt = Oblong green fruit | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). |author2=Canteiro, C. |year=2019 |title=''Acca sellowiana'' |volume=2019 |article-number=e.T152946605A152946607 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T152946605A152946607.en |access-date=22 March 2023}}</ref> | display_parents = 3 | genus = Feijoa | parent_authority = O.Berg | species = sellowiana | authority = (O.Berg) O.Berg | synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO"/> | synonyms = ''Acca sellowiana'' <small>(O.Berg) Burret</small><br /> ''Orthostemon sellowianus'' <small>O.Berg</small> }}
'''''Feijoa sellowiana''''' (or '''pineapple guava'''),<ref name="POWO">{{cite web|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:596467-1|title=Feijoa; in Plants of the World Online|date=2020|author= Govaerts R.|publisher=Kew}}</ref><ref name="Systematic Botany">{{cite journal|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A596259288/AONE?u=wikipedia&sid=ebsco&xid=542ad623|access-date=17 November 2022|title= A New Subtribal Classification of Tribe Myrteae (Myrtaceae)|journal=Systematic Botany|volume=44|issue=3|date=September 2019|pages=560–569|last1=Lucas|first1=Eve J.|last2=Holst|first2=Bruce|last3=Sobral|first3=Marcos|last4=Mazine|first4=Fiorella F.|last5=Nic Lughadha|first5=Eimear M.|last6=Barnes Proença|first6=Carolyn E.|last7=Ribeiro da Costa|first7=Itayguara|last8=Vasconcelos|first8=Thais N. C.|publisher=American Society of Plant Taxonomists|issn=0363-6445|doi=10.1600/036364419X15620113920608|bibcode=2019SysBo..44..560L |url-access=subscription}}</ref> also known as ''Acca sellowiana'' (O.Berg) Burret,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Acca sellowiana |url=https://keys.landcareresearch.co.nz/nzmyrtaceae/key/nzmyrtaceae/Media/Html/entities/Acca_sellowiana.htm |access-date=2023-02-14 |website=keys.landcareresearch.co.nz}}</ref> is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It is the only species in the genus '''''Feijoa'''''. It is native mainly to the highlands of Colombia, southern Brazil and the hills of northeast Uruguay, but it can also be found in eastern Paraguay and northern Argentina.<ref name="GRIN">{{GRIN | access-date=25 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Coradin |first1=Lidio |title=Espécies nativas da flora brasileira de valor econômico atual ou potencial: plantas para o futuro: Região Sul |last2=Siminski |first2=Alexandre |last3=Reis |first3=Ademir |date=2011 |publisher=Ministério do Meio Ambiente |isbn=978-85-7738-153-1 |pages=111–29 |language=pt}}</ref>{{Rp|page=114}} It is known as '''''quirina''''' (lusified from ''kanê kriyne''{{efn|{{IPA|/kanɛ̃ kɾiɛᶡɲe/}}}} by the indigenous Kaingang of southern Brazil)<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=111}} or as '''feijoa''' (''fay-ho-uh'' in Spanish-speaking countries of South America or ''fee-jo-uh'' in the United States and New Zealand{{efn|{{IPAc-en|f|eɪ|ˈ|ʒ|oʊ|.|ə}}),<ref>Brazilian Portuguese preferred pronunciation — http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/feijoa feijoa</ref><ref>Spanish preferred pronunciation — ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607</ref> or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|iː|dʒ|oʊ|.|ə}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/02/strange-fruit-how-feijoas-baffled-a-new-zealand-immigrant-and-polarise-a-nation|title='Citrusy aroma': how feijoas baffled a New Zealand immigrant – and polarise a nation|work=The Guardian|date=2021-04-02|access-date=2021-04-04|quote=pronounced "fey-oa" in its native South America and "fee-jo-ah" in New Zealand}}</ref>}}).<ref name="morton" />
It is an evergreen shrub or small tree, {{convert|1|-|7|m|ft}} in height.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Feijoa {{!}} plant species {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/feijoa-species |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The oblong leaves are about {{cvt|5|cm}} long, dark green on the upper side and white underneath. The flowers have five whitish petals which are puffy, possibly filled with some gas. There are about 25 dark red stamens projecting from the centre.<ref>{{cite book | last= Hogan | first= Sean | date= 2004 | title= Flora - The Gardener's Bible |location= Willoughby, New South Wales | publisher= Global Book Pub. Pty. Ltd. | page= 82 with photo |isbn= 1-74048-097-X }}</ref>
==Taxonomy== ''Feijoa sellowiana'' was formerly widely treated in the genus ''Acca'', as ''Acca sellowiana'' (O.Berg) Burret, but genetic research showed that the type species of ''Acca'' (''Acca lanuginosa'') is more closely related to the genus ''Myrrhinium'' than it is to "''A. sellowiana''", thus leaving ''Acca'' polyphyletic with respect to ''Myrrhinium'' if "''A. sellowiana''" is included.<ref name="Lucas">{{cite journal | last1=Lucas | first1=Eve J. | last2=Holst | first2=Bruce | last3=Sobral | first3=Marcos | last4=Mazine | first4=Fiorella F. | last5=Nic Lughadha | first5=Eimear M. | last6=Barnes Proença | first6=Carolyn E. | last7=Ribeiro da Costa | first7=Itayguara | last8=Vasconcelos | first8=Thais N. C. | title=A New Subtribal Classification of Tribe Myrteae (Myrtaceae) | journal=Systematic Botany | volume=44 | issue=3 | date=2019-08-06 | issn=0363-6445 | doi=10.1600/036364419X15620113920608 | pages=560–569 | bibcode=2019SysBo..44..560L | url=https://tncvasconcelos.github.io/papers/Lucasetal2019_myrteaesubtribes.pdf | access-date=2025-07-04}}</ref> Separated into ''Feijoa'', it is the only species in this genus.<ref name="POWO"/>
===Etymology=== ''Feijoa sellowiana'' is from the genus which the German botanist, Ernst Berger, named after João da Silva Feijó, a Portuguese naturalist, and the specific name honours Friedrich Sellow, a German who first collected specimens of ''Feijoa'' in southern Brazil.<ref name=morton/>
Other common English names in various countries include '''pineapple guava''', '''fig guava''' and '''guavasteen''', although it is not a true guava.<ref name="morton" />
==Fruit== thumb|Fruits The fruit matures in autumn and the skin is green. Its shape is roughly that of a prolate spheroid, and it is about the size of a chicken egg. It is sweet, slightly tart, with an aromatic bouquet reminiscent of other tropical fruit such as passion fruit or cherry guava. The flesh is juicy and is divided into a clear, gelatinous seed pulp and a firmer, slightly granular, opaque flesh nearer the skin.<ref name=morton/> The fruit falls to the ground when ripe and at its fullest flavour, but it may be picked from the tree prior to falling to prevent bruising.
The fruit pulp resembles the closely related guava, having a gritty texture. The feijoa pulp is used in some natural cosmetic products as an exfoliant. Feijoa fruit has a distinctive, potent smell that resembles that of a fine perfume. The aroma is due to methyl benzoate and related compounds in the fruit.<ref>Shaw GJ, Ellingham PJ & Birch EJ. 1983. Volatile constituents of feijoa-headspace analysis of intact fruit. ''J.Sci.Fd.Agric.'' 34: 743-747.</ref>
==Growing conditions== In Brazil, it is naturally found around ''Araucaria angustifolia'' forests at altitudes more than 900 metres.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=114}} The plant is a warm-temperate, subtropical plant that also will grow in the tropics, but requires at least 50 hours of winter chilling to fruit, and is frost-tolerant. When grown from seed, feijoas are noted for slow growth during their first year or two, and young plants, though cold tolerant, can be sensitive to high wind.
It is commonly grown in gardens of New Zealand.<ref name="nzpeoplesfruit" /> It is widely cultivated as an ornamental tree and for its fruit.<ref name="morton">{{cite web|url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/feijoa.html|title=Feijoa; In: Fruits of Warm Climates|date=1987|pages=367–70|author=Morton JF|publisher=Center for New Crops & Plant Products, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN}}</ref>
In the Northern Hemisphere, the species has been cultivated in the United Kingdom<ref>{{Cite web |last=ApteryxGav |date=2020-03-20 |title=Feijoas growing in UK - public parks, Zoos and Gardens. |url=https://feijoas.uk/2020/03/20/feijoas-growing-in-uk-public-parks-zoos-and-gardens/ |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=Feijoas UK |language=en-GB}}</ref> and as far north as western Scotland, but under such conditions it does not fruit every year, as winter temperatures below approximately {{convert|-9|°C|0}} kill the flower buds. Summer temperatures above {{convert|32|°C|0}} may also have an adverse effect upon fruit set. Feijoas are somewhat tolerant of drought and salt in soils, though fruit production can be adversely affected. Tolerant to partial shade, regular watering is essential while the fruit is maturing.
==Cultivation== thumb|Young feijoa seedling thumb|Leaves The main cultivation areas are in countries such as New Zealand, the United States (California), and Colombia, rather than the feijoa's native region. Some cultivars of ''F. sellowiana'', widely distributed internationally, derive from a small number of introductions of "Uruguayan type" plants. In 1890, Professor Edouard André introduced a specimen or a few specimens of the species from Uruguay to France, which were the origin of the seedlings introduced in California, and later reached New Zealand. Subsequently, Colombia introduced materials from various parts of the world.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rivas |first1=Mercedes |last2=Puppo |first2=María |last3=Baccino |first3=Estela |last4=Quezada |first4=Marianella |last5=Franco |first5=Jorge |last6=Pritsch |first6=Clara |date=2024-04-05 |title=Phenotypic and Molecular Diversity of Wild Populations of Acca sellowiana (Berg.) Burret in the Southern Area of Natural Distribution |journal=Horticulturae |language=en |volume=10 |issue=4 |page=360 |doi=10.3390/horticulturae10040360 |doi-access=free |issn=2311-7524}}</ref>
Uruguay continues to have breeding and commercialization programs focused on creating cultivars better for commercial production, with better fruit characteristics (including thinner skin, smaller seeds and better flavor and color).<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Dini |first=Maximiliano |last2=Cabrera |first2=Danilo |last3=Vignale |first3=Beatriz |last4=Rodríguez |first4=Pablo |last5=López |first5=Laura |date=2025-10-15 |title=Uruguayan feijoa (Feijoa sellowiana) cultivars |url=https://agrocienciauruguay.uy/index.php/agrociencia/article/view/1806 |journal=Agrociencia Uruguay |volume=29 |issue=NE3 |article-number=e1806 |doi=10.31285/AGRO.29.1806 |issn=2730-5066}} Also available via [http://www.scielo.edu.uy/scielo.php?pid=S2730-50662025000401309&script=sci_arttext SciELO Uruguay].</ref> The program, initiated in 2000 by the Instituto Nacional de Semillas and the Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria has identified 4 varieties registered for commercial development, alongside an expansion of growers and unregistered varieties.<ref name=":1" />
Some grafted cultivars of feijoa are self-fertile. Most are not and require a pollinator. Seedlings may or may not be of usable quality, and may or may not be self-fertile. Feijoas will mature into a sprawly shrub but can be kept successfully as a large container plant, though accommodations will need to be made for the width of the plants, and the need to encourage new growth for fruit production.
Feijoas are occasionally found as landscape plants in Texas, Florida, California, and the maritime Pacific Northwest. They can succeed in greenhouses in temperate parts of the United States, and have been grown in-ground as fruiting trees on the United States east coast in coastal Georgia and South Carolina, as well as in California. Other regions of the United States such as the southernmost Appalachian Mountains, and the immediate coastal region from North Carolina to Delaware would warrant further investigation.
[[File:Verger de Feïjoa fruits tombés à terre.jpg|thumb|Feijoa orchard with fallen ripe fruit in Dax, Landes, southwestern France]] [[File:Feijoa sellowiana (O.Berg) O.Berg.jpg|thumb|''Feijoa sellowiana'' (O.Berg) O.Berg, Azores]]
It has been widely grown in New Zealand since the 1920s, and is a popular garden tree there.<ref name="nzpeoplesfruit">{{cite journal| url=https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-peoples-fruit/| title=The People's Fruit| publisher=Kowhai Media| journal=New Zealand Geographic| first1=Kate| last1=Evans| date=Jul 2020| issue=164| access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref> The fruiting season is from March to June.<ref name="Hawkes Bay Today feijoa record">{{cite news | url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11449088 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404042932/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11449088 | archive-date=4 April 2016 | url-status=live | title=385g monster sets new feijoa record | work=Hawkes Bay Today | date=15 May 2015 | access-date=21 March 2016 | author=Christian, Harrison}}</ref><ref name="Feijoa Growers">{{cite web | url=http://www.feijoa.org.nz/ | title=New Zealand Feijoa Growers Association | publisher=New Zealand Feijoa Growers Association | access-date=21 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201608/http://www.feijoa.org.nz/ | url-status=live | archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> Its pollinators are bees, bumblebees, and medium-sized birds. The silvereye is a pollinator in the cooler parts of the South Island; the blackbird and the Indian myna, which feeds on the sweet, fleshy flower petals, are pollinators further north. In some areas, the trees have been unproductive due to lack of pollinators. The shrub has very few insect pests, but guava moth is a problem in Northland.<ref name="test">{{cite web |url=http://envirolink.govt.nz/PageFiles/436/611-nlrc84.pdf |title=Guava moth (''Coscinoptycha improbana'') mating disruption using asian peach moth (Carposina sasakii) pheromone dispensers|publisher=Plant and Food Research, New Zealand|author=Wakelin RH|display-authors=etal|date=2009|access-date=28 April 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150114011711/http://envirolink.govt.nz/PageFiles/436/611-nlrc84.pdf |archive-date=2015-01-14}}</ref>
In the South Caucasus, feijoa has been cultivated in the southern coastal region of Azerbaijan since 1928; cultivation in neighboring Georgia has gradually increased to about {{convert|988|ha}} in 1986.<ref name="fruitstropical">{{cite book |title=Fruits: tropical and subtropical, Volume 2 |editor1-last=Bose |editor1-first=T.K. |editor2-last=Mitra |editor2-first=S.K. |editor3-last=Sanyal |editor3-first=D. |year=2001 |publisher=Naya Udyog |isbn=978-81-85971-83-4 |page=660 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HuxGAAAAYAAJ&q=Feijoa+Azerbaijan }}</ref>
==Sale and shipping== Ripe fruit is prone to bruising; difficulty maintaining the fruit in good condition for any length of time, along with the short period of optimum ripeness and full flavour, probably explains why feijoas are not exported frequently, and are typically sold close to where they are grown. However, intercontinental shipping of feijoa by sea or air has been successful.<ref name=morton/>
Because of the relatively short shelf life, storekeepers need to be careful to replace older fruit regularly to ensure high quality. In some countries, they also may be purchased at roadside stalls, often at a lower price.
Feijoas may be cool-stored for approximately a month and still have a few days of shelf life at optimum eating maturity.<ref name=morton/> They also may be frozen for up to one year without a loss in quality.
==Consumption== ===Nutrition=== {{nutritional value | name = Feijoa, raw | water = 83 g | kJ = 230 | protein = 0.98 g | fat = 0.6 g | carbs = 12.92 g | fiber = 6.4 g | sugars = 8.2 g | calcium_mg=17 | iron_mg=0.14 | magnesium_mg=9 | phosphorus_mg=19 | potassium_mg=172 | sodium_mg=3 | zinc_mg=0.06 | manganese_mg=0.084 | vitC_mg=32.9 | thiamin_mg=0.006 | riboflavin_mg=0.018 | niacin_mg=0.295 | pantothenic_mg=0.233 | vitB6_mg=0.067 | folate_ug=23 | vitE_mg=0.16 | vitK_ug=3.5 | note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/168176/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry] }} Raw feijoa is 83% water, 13% carbohydrates, and 1% each of fat and protein (table). In a reference amount of {{convert|100|g}}, raw feijoa provides 55 calories and is a rich source of vitamin C, providing 40% of the Daily Value, but supplies no other micronutrients in significant amount.
===Food uses=== {{Cookbook|Feijoa}} Although the skin is edible, the fruit usually is eaten by cutting it in half, then scooping out the pulp with a spoon. The fruit has a juicy, sweet seed pulp and slightly gritty flesh nearer the skin.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} The flower petals are edible.<ref name=morton/> The most common uses are eating raw, desserts such as sorbet, sweet pies, crumbles, or in salads. They are regularly consumed by birds.<ref name="crfg">{{cite web|url=https://crfg.org/?s=Feijoa|title=Feijoa|publisher=California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc.|date=1996|access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.luvnpeas.org/edibility/edible10.html|title=Pineapple guava; Feijoa (''Feijoa sellowiana'')|publisher=Bandon Oregon Garden Plant List|date=2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gardenofaedyn.com/plants/feijoa-acca-sellowiana-pineapple-guava/ |title=''Feijoa acca sellowiana'' – Pineapple guava |work=gardenofaedyn.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324140651/http://www.gardenofaedyn.com/plants/feijoa-acca-sellowiana-pineapple-guava/ |archive-date=2012-03-24 }}</ref>
<gallery heights="180px" widths="200px"> File:Feijoa sellowiana edit.jpg|The crisp, spicy-sweet tasting petals of feijoa flowers are edible. File:Feijoa spread.jpg|Spread made of mashed raw feijoa File:Feijoas in New Zealand 20230418 155309.jpg|A display of feijoas for sale in Auckland, New Zealand </gallery>
==Varieties== Numerous cultivars of feijoa have been developed. These include:{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} * Anatoki * Apollo * Bambina * Barton * Den's Choice * Choiceana * Tibasosa (grown in the "Feijoa capital of Colombia", Tibasosa) * Coolidge * Edenvale Improved Coolidge * Edenvale Late * Edenvale Supreme * Gemini * Kaiteri * Kakariki (a cultivar developed by Waimea Nurseries, New Zealand, large flavour-filled fruit, named from the Māori word for green) * Mammoth – named for its relatively massive fruit * Moore * Nazemetz * Opal Star * Pineapple Gem * Smilax – mid-sized, spherical fruit with smooth texture * Trask * Triumph * Unique (NZ cultivar, particularly tolerant of clay soils, and self pollinating) * Vista Long – noted for the long shape of its fruit, developed in Vista, CA * Wiki Tu
==Notes== {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Acca+sellowiana Feijoa: Plants for a Future]
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q83638494|from2=Q59420273|from3=Q499671}}
Category:Myrtaceae Category:Monotypic Myrtaceae genera Category:Plants described in 1941 Category:Crops originating from Argentina Category:Crops originating from Brazil Category:Crops originating from Colombia Category:Crops originating from Uruguay Category:Trees of Argentina Category:Trees of Brazil Category:Trees of Uruguay Category:Tropical fruit