The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 5–10 mm ( 3⁄ 16– 3⁄ 8 in) wide. Panicles of flowers with deciduous bracts arise from new growth or the axils of leaves. Persea americana is a tree that grows to 20 m (66 ft), with alternately arranged leaves 12–25 cm (5–10 in) long.
The high nutrient and fat contents and texture of avocado flesh are useful for different cuisines, including salads and vegetarian diets. Commercially, the fruits are picked while immature, and ripened after harvesting. Depending on the variety, avocados have green, brown, purplish, or black skin, and may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. The fruit of domestic varieties has smooth, buttery, golden flesh when ripe. Climate change is expected to cause significant changes in the suitable growing zones for avocados, and put additional pressure due to heat waves and drought. Avocado production is also connected to other concerns, including environmental justice and human rights concerns, deforestation and connections of Mexican avocados with organized crime. In major production regions like Chile, Mexico and California, the water demands for avocado puts pressure on overall water resources. Avocado production is one of the most environmentally intensive fruits, using 70 litres (18 US gallons 15 imperial gallons) of water per avocado, and over 400 grams of CO 2 emissions. Īvocados are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates of many countries, with Mexico as the leading producer of avocados in 2019, supplying 32% of the world total. Avocado trees are partially self-pollinating, and are often propagated through grafting to maintain predictable fruit quality and quantity. The fruit of the plant, also called an avocado (or avocado pear or alligator pear, colloquially avo), is botanically a large berry containing a single large seed. It is classified as a member of the flowering plant family Lauraceae. The avocado ( Persea americana) is a tree originating in the Americas which is likely native to the highland regions of south-central Mexico to Guatemala.