Avocado
tree and the fruit of that tree (Persea americana) in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. The avocado tree does not tolerate freezing temperatures, and so can be grown only in subtropical and tropical climates, where the fruit is sometimes called a pear or alligator pear.
The avocado tree is native to Central and South America. Introduced to California in the 19th century, it has become extremely successful there as a cash crop. Fallbrook, California, in San Diego County claims the title of "Avocado Capital of the World," and hosts an annual Avocado Festival.
The avocado fruit is botanically a berry. Horticultural varieties range from more or less round to egg or pear-shaped, typically the size of a temperate zone pear or larger, on the outside bright green to green-brown (or almost black) in color, and high in fat, with a large central seed or pit. Though the fruit does have a markedly higher fat content than most other vegetables, most of the fat in avocados exists as vegetarian cuisine, making a good substitute for meats and cheeses in sandwiches because of the high fat content. The fruit is not sweet, but fatty, flavorful, and of smooth, almost creamy texture. It is used as the base for the Mexican dip known as guacamole.
The name "avocado" is from its Nahuatl name 'ahuacatl' which also meant testicles, with influence from the irrelevant but much more familiar Spanish avocado an obsolete form of 'abogado' (lawyer). The Nahuatl ahuacatl could be compounded with others, as in ahuacamolli, meaning "avocado soup or sauce," from which the Spanish-Mexican word guacamole derives.
The avocado fruit does not ripen on the tree, but will fall off in a hard, "green" state, then ripen quickly on the ground. Generally, the fruit is picked once it reaches a mature size, and will then ripen in a few days—faster if stored with other fruit such as bananas. Up to a point, fruit can be left on the tree until required, rather than picked and stored.
Barlow & Martin (2002) identify the avocado as a fruit adapted for ecological relationship with large mammals, now extinct (as for example the South American herbivorous giant ground sloths or
