Psidium salutare

Psidium salutare is a small shrub of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) ranging from southern Mexico through Central America to tropical South America, where it is a characteristic plant of seasonally dry savannas, cerrado and open grasslands, including the Chapada do Araripe of northeastern Brazil. It is a low, woody, often somewhat sprawling shrub with reddish-brown peeling bark and small, opposite, leathery leaves that are elliptic to obovate, glossy above and gland-dotted, releasing an aromatic scent. The solitary white flowers have four or five petals and a prominent central tuft of numerous stamens, in the manner typical of guavas. The fruit is a small rounded berry that ripens dark and is edible, sweet and aromatic, eaten locally and known regionally as araca preto. The leaves yield an essential oil rich in terpenes.