Guava is known as peyara/pearah or goyaa in Bangladesh. In English this fruit is also known as Apple Guava. In Bangladesh Guava grows abundantly in Barisal, Pirojpur, Jhalokathi, Chittagong districts which are the main guava producing provinces. Guava was first introduced by the Portuguese during the seventeenth century in Bangladesh. By origin guava is native to Mexico and Latin America that is tropical and sub-tropical American region. With its widespread cultivation now a days guava is regarded as an indigenous fruit of Bangladesh that grows and consumed all over the country. There are now over 140 varieties of guava found all around the world, but only a few have cultivation value.
Guava tree is an evergreen, shallow-rooted shrubs or small sized tree with spreading branches. A guava tree is easy to recognize because of its smooth, thin copper-colored smooth bark that flakes off, showing the greenish layer on older branches and trunk. Guava plant grows symmetrically dome-shaped with broad, spreading, low-branching canopy and branching close to the ground and often heavily suckering from the base of the trunk.
During the boat trips in the channels of Barisal one can spot the abundance of guava trees shadowing over them. Best time to visit backwater and guava garden is June to September because rivers and canals reach to their fullest and the fruits start to ripe. March and November are also suitable because of the cool weather and low humidity. As the guava gardens are surrounded by backwater and narrow river channels, Barisal never gets too humid or extreme and welcomes the tourists to cool off with its natural beauty.
During a trip to guava garden one can wonder about the benefits of guava. Both the tree leaves and fruits have their own health benefits. The leaves are aromatic when crushed and are used as ancient remedies for multiple purpose such as strong teeth and hair strengthening. The benefits of guava include controlling blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, battling diabetes, combating cancer and protecting prostrate. Guava’s Lypocene reduces tooth ache, swollen gums and oral ulcers, heals wounds when applied externally. Also beneficial in case of convulsions, epilepsy, bacterial infections and so forth.
For more benefits of Guava read the following article: