Avocado

For the place in California, see Avocado, California. For the Pearl Jam album, see Pearl Jam (album).

Avocado
Avocado fruit and foliage, Réunion island
Ripe avocado fruit and cross-section
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Phylum:	Angiosperms
Class:	Magnoliids
Order:	Laurales
Family:	Lauraceae
Genus:	Persea
Species:	P. americana
Binomial name
Persea americana Mill
Synonyms
Persea gratissima

The avocado (Persea americana) is a tree native to Central Mexico.classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel. Avocado or alligator pear also refers to the fruit (botanically a large berry that contains a single seed) of the tree, which may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped or spherical.
Avocados are commercially valuable and are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world. They have a green-skinned, pear-shaped fleshy body that ripens after harvesting. Trees are partially self-pollinating and often are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit.