Acca sellowiana (feijoa)

Japanese name: フェイジョア
Scientific name: Acca sellowiana

[Overview]
An evergreen shrub 3–5 m tall.
It branches well.
Leaves are simple and opposite, elliptical, 5–7.5 cm long, with entire margins.
The leaves are leathery, glossy on the upper surface, and densely covered with downy hairs on the underside, which looks silvery gray.
The flowers are 4-petaled, about 4 cm across, borne singly in the leaf axils.
The petals are thick and fleshy, white and downy on the outside and tinged with purple on the inside.
The many long crimson stamens are conspicuous.
The fruit is an ovoid to elliptical berry 3–10 cm long, greenish tinged with white.
The calyx lobes remain at the tip of the fruit like a crown.
The flesh is cream-colored and sweet, with a pineapple-like fragrance.

[History]
It was introduced to France in 1890 and to the United States in 1900.
It was introduced to Japan in the early Showa period.

[Uses]
It can be eaten raw and is also processed into jam, jelly and the like.
The petals are also sweet and edible.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by grafting, by cuttings, or by layering.
Grafted, cutting-grown and layered plants bear fruit 2–3 years after planting out, whereas seedlings take 4–6 years.
It is very cold hardy and tolerates down to -10°C.
It prefers a sunny soil that is well drained and retains water well; it is not very particular about soil type, but sandy soil rich in humus is suitable.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
Apply organic fertilizer in spring and autumn.
To harvest the fruit, do not pick it early; instead gather the fruit that has ripened and fallen naturally from the tree, and let it ripen further until it gives off its fragrance.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

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