 | | Name: | avocado | | Plural names: | avocados | | Scientific name: | Persea americana |
| Description: | Avocado (Persea americana) is a tree and the fruit of that tree, classified in the flowering plant family, Lauraceae. It is native to Central America and Mexico.
An average avocado tree produces about 120 avocados annually.
The avocado fruit does not ripen on the tree, but will fall off or be picked in a hard, "green" state, then it will ripen quickly on the ground, but depending on the amount of oil that it has the taste may be very different. 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, because of the influence of ethylene gas). Premium supermarkets sell pre-soften avocados, treated with a special gas to stimulate ethylene synthesis in the fruit (the same process used to de-green lemons). The fruit can be left on the tree until required, rather than picked and stored, but for commercial reasons it must be picked as soon as possible. Growers can keep the fruit on the tree for about 4-6 months after fully developed; if the fruit stays on the tree for too long it will fall to the ground.
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