plant names

Pineapple guava may hold the record for the longest lasting resistance to a plant name change, a resistance recently rewarded with a reinstatement of the original name of Feijoa sellowiana. This evergreen, subtropical South American shrub or small tree was given that name in 1859, renamed Acca sellowiana in 1941, and returned to its original name in 2019. Many gardeners and horticulturists --along with much of the nursery industry-- never made the switch. Pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) pruned as a small multitrunk tree Feijoa sellowiana has thick, leathery, elliptical leaves, glossy dark green on the upper surface