The avocado (Persea americana) is a treenative to Mexico and Central America,^[1]classified in the flowering plant familyLauraceae along with cinnamon, camphorand bay laurel. Avocado or alligator pear also refers to the fruit, botanically a large berrythat contains a single seed.^[2]

Avocados are commercially valuable and are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world. They have a green-skinned, fleshy body that may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. Commercially, they ripen after harvesting. Trees are partially self-pollinating and often are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit.