Short answers, pulled from the story.
Guava is a common tropical fruit, and botanically it is a berry. The common guava, Psidium guajava, is a small tree in the myrtle family, native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America.
Guava originated from an area extending across Mexico, Central America or northern South America and throughout the Caribbean. Archaeological sites in Peru yielded evidence of guava cultivation as early as 2500 BC.
India leads world guava production with 45% of the total. In 2024, world production reached 62 million tonnes, a figure that combines mangoes and mangosteens, with Indonesia and China as secondary producers.
A raw common guava is 81% water, 14% carbohydrates, 3% protein and 0.5% fat. In a 100 gram serving it supplies 285 kilojoules of food energy and is a rich source of dietary fiber and vitamin C, providing 254% of the Daily Value.
Guava is eaten raw, used in beverages like agua fresca, and made into candies, jellies and jams thanks to its high pectin. It appears in Filipino sinigang, Cuban pastelitos de guayaba, Brazilian goiabada, and is sold at Taiwan night markets with dried plum powder for dipping.
In Hawaii, strawberry guava has become an aggressive invasive species. It threatens extinction to more than 100 other plant species, spreading easily because birds and other animals eat the fruit and disperse its seeds.