In the richness of the Amazon, Guava fruits often grow well beyond the size of tennis balls on well branched trees or shrubs reaching up to 20 meters in height. Guava fruit today is considered minor in terms of world trade but is nevertheless widely grown in the tropics, enriching the diet of hundreds of millions of people in the tropics of the world. Called guayaba in Spanish-speaking countries and goiaba in Brazil, guava is a common shade-tree or shrub in dooryard gardens providing shade while the guava fruits are eaten fresh and made into drinks, ice cream and preserves. Guava has spread widely throughout the tropics with moderate to heavy rainfall because it thrives on a variety of soils, propagates easily and bears fruit relatively quickly. The fruits contain numerous seeds that can produce a mature fruit-bearing plant within four years. In the Amazon rainforest, the seeds of guava fruits are much enjoyed by birds and monkeys, which disperse guava seeds in their droppings and causing spontaneous clumps of guava trees growing through the Amazon Rainforest.

It is believed that Guava may have been domesticated in Peru several thousand years ago where Peruvian archaeological sites have been uncovered with guava seeds found stored with beans, corn, squash and other cultivated plants. Centuries ago, European adventurers, traders and missionaries in the Amazon Basin took the much enjoyed and tasty fruits to Africa, Asia, India and the Pacific topical regions where it is now cultivated throughout the tropical regions of the world.