Since it does not belong to the genus Psidium this fruit is not properly entitled to be called a guava, but its similarity to the true guavas in nearly every respect makes it horticulturally permissible to include it with them. In Brazil it is known as Araca do Para. It is indigenous there, and is occasionally seen in cultivation in several parts of the country. It has been introduced into Florida, where it has been distributed under the name Psidium Araca. This is a good fruit, worthy of wider dissemination in tropical countries. Its requirements appear to resemble closely those of the common guava, P. Guajava.

The plant becomes an erect shrub or small tree up to 25 or 30 feet in height, with slender branches and quadrangular winged branchlets. The leaves, which are borne upon very short petioles, are oblong-ovate or oblong-lanceolate in outline, 2 to 4 inches long, acuminate, glabrous, and somewhat glossy. The flowers, which are solitary in the leaf-axils, are borne upon slender quadrangular peduncles. The calyx is closed, splitting when the flower expands, forming several irregular segments. The petals are white and five in number. The fruit is oval or roundish in form, 2 to 3 inches long, sulfur-yellow in color, with soft whitish pulp containing a few seeds of larger size than those of the true guavas. The flavor is acid but pleasant, similar to that of the guava but with little of that fruit's musky aroma.