Hello, they are perfectly edible, and my daughter harvests them and eats
them right away whenever she notices them. Although I am not aware of any
operations to raise it as a commercial fruit, it is commonly sold in some
parts of the world as a backyard fruit. I suppose that in the UK it is
primarily sold as an ornamental, but in my part of the world (northwestern
USA, similar climate) it is primarily sold as a fruit-bearer.

"Myrtus ugni" is now "Ugni molina". The fruits are sometimes called "Chilean
Guavas" or "Strawberry Guavas". There is another species of Ugni, quite
closely related to this one but with narrower leaves, that is equally
edible. Both are natives of the southern Andes in Chile.

They are not bad as guavas go, in fact they are better than the more
tropical Guavas, and in particular the guavas grown in Asia, but they have
a flavor that is a mixture of strawberry and...guava! (They are, in fact,
members of the Myrtaceae, whose fruits are often referred to as "guavas".
The "v" by the way is usually pronounced as if it were a "b", "guaba",
because that is how New World Spanish treats the letter "v"). Guavas have a
resinous smell like myrtle, which not everyone likes. If you like them,
enjoy them, they are perfectly safe despite the slightly medicinal smell!

An even tastier guava, I would say about the best of the Guavas, is the
fruit of Feijoa sellowiana, which unfortunately rarely bears in the UK. The
flavor is like Pineapple (hence the common name "Pineapple Guava") with a
scent of Passiflora caerulea (vaguely sweet-pea like if that helps), and
the seeds are tiny and unobtrusive. One of the tastiest fruits in the
world, and unusual for being so good without ever having been bred for
bigger and better fruits. The small tree/large shrub it grows on is also
very beautiful, with huge (for a myrtle) candy-pink blossoms (the petals of
which are eaten by the parrots that pollinate it, and interestingly they
are quite palatable to humans as well; they are traditionally added to
fruit salad) and very attractive leathery leaves and rugged, olive-like
branches. Strangely cold-hardy for a native of southern Brazil.

Bon appetit.

Atar

--
Enjoy reading about special plants from interesting parts of the world on my
blog at wildestdreamsofkew.blogspot.com

Sacha wrote:

Hay anyone actually tried eating the berries of these. We have it both
flowering and berrying in the garden at the moment and the smell is
deliciously like strawberries when you crush the berries.
I've found a site that says they're edible and can be used in jellies but
I'm very cautious....... ;-)