Guavaberry Page 2 - History, Botany, Folklore

It is a quirk of nature, a blessing we say. Yes you can find Guavaberry trees scattered thoughout the wide Caribbean basin. Yes they are found in the Philippine & Hawaiian Islands & indeed you can handle dusty old samples of brittle Guavaberry branches (Eugenia or Myrciaria Floribunda) in the herbariums of the large natural history museums in Europe.

But there is only one known tree growing on the U.S. mainland, in a State Park in Florida where it is known as a "rumberry". There are trees in the US Virgin Islands and in the BVI where the same old time romantic folkloric traditions exist, but it is likely that there are more Guavaberry trees on Sint Maarten/St. Martin than anywhere else on earth.

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