# Avocado (*Persea americana*) Avocados are fruits that grow on trees. They have a green skin and a big seed inside. People use avocados to make yummy guacamole and salads. - **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant) - **Rarity:** Common - **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low - **Snaps:** 2 - **Habitat:** Tropical regions - **Also known as:** Alligator Pear ![Avocado](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Persea_americana_fruit_2.JPG&width=800) Photo: B.navez, CC BY-SA 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Persea_americana_fruit_2.JPG) ## Appearance The Avocado is a medium-sized evergreen tree with glossy, dark green, leathery leaves. Its fruit is typically pear-shaped or oval, with skin that can be smooth, bumpy, green, or purplish-black. Inside, creamy pale-green flesh surrounds a single large, dark brown seed. ## Taxonomy - **Kingdom:** Plantae - **Phylum:** Tracheophyta - **Class:** Magnoliopsida - **Order:** Laurales - **Family:** Lauraceae - **Genus:** Persea ## Interesting facts - Avocado flowers change gender during the day to help with pollination! - Avocado pits are so big you can plant them to grow your very own tree! - Avocados are technically a single-seeded berry, not a vegetable! - Some avocado trees can produce hundreds of fruits in a single year! ## Special abilities - **Self-Pollination Power:** Avocado flowers can sometimes self-pollinate, which helps ensure fruit production even without other trees nearby. - **Water-Saving Leaves:** The avocado has leathery leaves with a waxy coating that helps the tree save water, allowing it to thrive in drier conditions. - **Nutrient Hoarder:** The avocado fruit is packed with healthy fats and vitamins, acting like an energy reserve for its seed and for those who eat it! ## Measurements & details - **Height:** 1000-2000 cm - **Spread:** 500-1000 cm - **Flower Size:** 0.5-1 cm - **Bloom Season:** Late winter to spring - **Edible:** Yes - **Toxicity:** None - **Lifecycle:** Perennial - **Pollination Method:** Insect ## Ecological connections - **Pollinates:** honey bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Key pollinator of avocado flowers. - **Depends on:** [human](https://www.snappit.app/explore/human) (*Homo sapiens*) — Widely cultivated for its edible fruit. - **Eats:** [black rat](https://www.snappit.app/explore/black-rat) (*Rattus rattus*) — Sometimes preys on fallen fruit or young plants. - **Eats:** Virginia opossum (*Didelphis virginiana*) — Will eat ripe avocados that fall. ## Traits - [Evergreen](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/evergreen): Evergreen plants retain their foliage throughout the year, never shedding all their leaves at once. - [Fruit Bearing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/fruit-bearing): Fruit-bearing plants produce fruits, which are the mature ovaries of flowering plants containing seeds. - [Medicinal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/medicinal): Medicinal plants possess chemical compounds that can be used for therapeutic purposes to treat illnesses or maintain health. - [Fruit Tree](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/fruit-tree): A fruit tree is a perennial tree that produces fruit, which is edible to humans or animals. - [Oil Crop](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/oil-crop): This human use trait identifies species cultivated as oil crops, harvested for their seeds or fruits from which vegetable oils are extracted for food, fuel, or industrial uses. - [Agricultural](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/agricultural): This human use trait describes species cultivated or domesticated by humans for agricultural purposes, including crops and livestock. - [Edible](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/edible): Edible plants are those parts of a plant that are considered safe for human consumption. ## Collections - [Fruits](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/fruits) - [Trees](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/trees) ## Safety **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low Always ask an adult to help you cut an avocado as they have a big seed inside. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How to identify Avocado? Compare the fruit's shape, skin, how it attaches, the leaves and the plant's growth form. Ripeness and cultivated varieties can change both color and size. Fruit Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details. ### How tall is Avocado? 1000-2000 cm ### How wide does Avocado spread? 500-1000 cm ### How big are the flowers on Avocado? 0.5-1 cm ### When does Avocado bloom? Late winter to spring ### Is Avocado edible? Yes ### Is Avocado toxic? None ### What is Avocado's lifecycle? Perennial ## Where to spot - [California Citrus State Historic Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/california-citrus-state-historic-park) — California, US · State Park - [McKee Botanical Garden](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/mckee-botanical-garden) — Florida, US · Botanical Garden - [La Orotava Acclimatisation Garden, Puerto de la Cruz](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/la-orotava-acclimatisation-garden-puerto-de-la-cruz) — Canarias, ES · Park [View all places to see Avocado](https://www.snappit.app/guides/where-to-see/avocado) ## More Plants - [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*) - [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*) - [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*) - [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*) --- Source: [Avocado: Characteristics, Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/avocado)