Avocado

The pear shaped fruit and trees.

• Avocados are native to Central Mexico and are also known as alligator pear or avocado pear..
• Avocado trees are flowering plants from the family Lauraceae, the same family of cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel.
• Avocado fruit have black or green, smooth or bumpy skin, depending on the variety, a large seed inside, and soft, creamy yellow to green flesh.
• Avocado trees grow up to 20 meters (66 feet) in height and are often started from a pit, initially grown indoors.
• Avocado fruit can grow from 7 cm (2.8 inches) to 20 cm (7.9 inches) long.

• Avocado fruit mature on the tree and then drop to the ground and ripen.  Once the avocado is cut, the flesh quickly turns brown.
• Mexico grows more than one billion kilograms of avocado fruit per year, the most in the world.
• Avocado fruit are rich in vitamins B, E and K, and potassium, and are high in fibre.
• Avocado fruit and parts of the plant are toxic to many animals, including some birds.
• Avocados are normally eaten raw in salad and on sandwiches, and in some countries combined to make juice, desserts, drinks, and dips.  Sometimes it is served cooked in certain dishes.

Bibliography:
Avocado 31 January 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado>