General Description

A dense, broad and fast growing evergreen tree.

Landscape

Grown as windbreaks and in gardens for their nutritious and delicious fruit.

Cultivation

Plant in full sun to partial shade, with deep, rich, moist but well-drained soil. Not salt or urban tolerant.

Shape

Upright broad shape.

Growth

Medium

ID Characteristic

Edible avocado fruit.

Pests

Avocado looper, pyriform scale, dictyospermum scale, avocado red mites, borers, Xylosandrus spp., avocado lace bugs and red-banded thrips.

Habitat

Hot-humid forested areas and tropical lowlands.

Bark/Stem Description

Shallowly ridged and furrowed on old trunks. The ridges become increasingly scaly with age.

Flower/Leaf Bud Description

Single axillary buds are found in the axils of each leaf. When the avocado's apical meristems become dormant, the formation of terminal buds may occur. Dormant axillary buds are covered in bud scales.

Leaf Description

Alternately-growing leaves with an entire margin. They have an elliptic shape with pinnate venation. The leaves grow between 7.5 - 40 cm long.

Flower Description

200 - 300 small, blooms appear on terminal panicles. The flowers are perfect with male and female reproductive parts and are not particularly showy. The flowers are 1 - 1.3 cm in length.

Fruit Description

Subglobose in shape. Grow from 7.5 - 33 cm long and up to 15 cm wide.

Colour Description

Mature avocado trees have dark green leaves, while young trees are reddish-green. The bark is a grey-brown. Flowers are yellowish-green. The avocado fruit can be a lighter glossy green when unripe, which then turn to a dark green-purple colour when ripe.

Texture Description

Medium to coarse.

Notable Specimens

The National Champion is found in Orange County, California, United States of America. Centennial Conservatory, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

Propagation

Propagation by grafting or seed.

Ethnobotanical Uses (Disclaimer)

The flesh of the avocado fruit is a very energy-rich food when eaten fresh. The leaves can be used to make spice. Edible oil can be extracted from the flesh of an avocado fruit used in the cosmetic industry.

Dirr, M. (1975). Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses, 6, 797. Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing L.L.C. Schaffer, B, Wolstenholme, N, Whiley, A. (2013).The Avocado: Botany, Production and Uses, 22, 23, 24. Boston, MA: CAB International.