Feijoa comes from the subtropical regions of South America. It grows in Paraguay, Uruguay, Northern Argentina and Southern Brazil. At home, it grows in the forests in the form of undergrowth. This is a typical inhabitant of the subtropics, so all attempts to grow it in a tropical climate have ended in failure.
Feijoa opening
Feijoa is a unique fruit and ornamental plant. It was first discovered a century and a half ago by the German naturalist Friedrich Zello. The specific name - Akka Sellova - the plant received by the surname of the discoverer, and the generic name - feijoa, in honor of the director of the Museum of Natural History in Brazil, whose name was Juan Feijo.
Feijoa first appeared in France in 1890. And the triumphal procession of the plant began around the world. 1900 - Yalta and Sukhumi. 1901 - California. 1913 - Italy and other Mediterranean countries. Then feijoa was received by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Crimea and Krasnodar Territory. Interestingly, this subtropical plant, which categorically refuses to grow and bear fruit in the tropics, has perfectly adapted to growing conditions in the Crimea, where it even tolerates frosts down to –11 ° С. In many countries, feijoa is successfully grown and bears fruit perfectly as a houseplant.
Description of the plant
The feijoa genus belongs to the Myrtle family. There are only three species in the genus, of which only one is domesticated. The plant is an evergreen shrub, no more than three meters high, with grayish-yellow branches and hard pubescent leaves. The leaves are green above and silvery gray below. They have a strong characteristic odor. Feijoa blooms very beautifully with crimson-red flowers at the base, with large white-pink petals.
The most important value of the feijoa plant is its fruit. It is a green berry with a slight reddish tint. The shape is oval or oblong. Diameter 4-6 centimeters. Length - up to 10 centimeters (depending on the variety). One feijoa fruit weighs from 30 to 50 g.
Feijoa value
Even when ripe, these fruits do not look appetizing at all. They remain green (rarely red or brown) and nondescript, similar to unripe plums with a short tuft. But inside the feijoa there is a surprise - a dense, juicy, pleasantly sour pulp with an amazing aroma and taste of strawberries, banana and pineapple at the same time. There are also seeds there, but they are poorly felt, and they do not interfere with enjoying the exquisite taste.
The pulp of feijoa contains a lot of vitamin C, and the more mature the fruit, the more it is. Also, the fruits contain sucrose, five amino acids, fiber, pectins and protein substances. The fruits are quite acidic. And they have the most valuable property - to accumulate soluble iodine compounds, which are perfectly absorbed by the body. In this regard, all other fruits and berries, even persimmons, are far from feijoa.
