feijoa

[prettygoodword]

feijoa (fay-YOH-uh, fay-HOH-uh) - n., a perennial shrub native to South America (Acca sellowiana formerly Fiejoa sellowiana) cultivated for its ornamental flowers and edible fruit.


Also called pineapple guava and guavasteen, and while it is not a true guava it is a cousin. Its native range is the highlands of southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina, and the fruit, which is about the size of a chicken egg, is sweet and tart. The name is from the surname of João da Silva Feijó (1760-1824), a Brazilian soldier and naturalist.


Thanks, Wikimedia!

---L.

Comments

[thistleingrey]

Any idea what it is in Guaraní? (Weird that there's only the exonym in English.)

[prettygoodword]

Nope - hasn’t come up in my usual sources.