Persea americana

The common avocado is in the laurelor Lauraceae family and is thought to have originated in south central Mexico, although it is also known to have been present in Peru over 8,000 years ago.

Avocados are now cultivated in Mediterranean climates throughout the world.

• Leaves are simple, alternate, 12–25 cm long.
• Flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 5–10 mm wide.
• The pear-shaped fruit is 7–20 cm long, weighs between 100 and 1,000 g and has a large central seed, 5–6.4 cm long. Botanically, the avocado fruit is defined as a single-seeded berry rather than a drupe. It matures on the tree but ripens of the tree.
• The flesh around the seed is high in vegetable oil and is known to be very nutritious.
• Fruit is a small, shiny black berry-like drupe about 1 cm long containing one seed.