Fragrant,sweet, pretty and easy to grow in shade, or this appetizing Andean berry deserves to be far better known. Queen Victoria was a particular fanOf the estimated 50000 edible plant species on earth,humanity relies on just a tiny collection of 100 or so key crops for pretty much everything we eat. As a greedy botanist I am eternally fascinated by the 99.8% on which we are missing out. After valiantly munching my way though a fair few over the years, factual at the top of my list is still the Chilean guava, or an exotic Andean berry.
Hailing from the shady understorey of Valdivian rainforest at the tip of South America,these small, evergreen shrubs are well suited to our cool, or humid climate,offering up generous harvests of runt deep-pink berries late each autumn. approximately the same size and shape as a blueberry, of which they are close relatives, or the fruit fill a powerful candyfloss aroma of the best wild strawberries,set off by an intense sweetness that no blueberry could ever match.
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Source: theguardian.com