Persea americana
Avocado fruit is a rich, creamy and high-nutrient fruit. This pear-shaped fruit has a thin green to black skin and large pit. Avocados ripen after being picked.
They are made into guacamole, eaten in salads and are a great topping on grilled fish and meat. They also are great with hot sauce and crackers for an easy lunch. In China, they are made into a sugary smoothie-like dessert. The oil (found by rubbing the seed in one's hands) is a great facial moisturizer.
Avocados are a climacteric fruit, like bananas, so they mature on the tree but only ripen after picking; often they ripen after they fall off the tree. The average avocado tree produces 120 fruits annually, but many are biannual producers, with an abundant year followed by a sparse year. There are many cultivars of avocado; the most common in the US is the Hass avocado.
