Editing Avocado (section)

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the laurel family}}
{{About|the tree and fruit}}
{{Pp|small=yes|}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc|display-authors=3}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = 
| image = Persea americana fruit 2.JPG
| image_alt = Close-up picture of foliage and avocado fruit
| image_caption = Avocado fruit and foliage, [[Réunion|Réunion island]]
| image2 = Avocado Hass - single and halved.jpg
| image2_caption = Whole and halved [[Hass avocado]]s grown in Colombia
| genus = Persea
| species = americana
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref =<ref>Wegier, A., Lorea Hernández, F., Contreras, A., Tobón, W. & Mastretta-Yanes, A. 2017. Persea americana (errata version published in 2018). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T96986556A129765464. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T96986556A96986588.en. Downloaded on 01 May 2021.</ref>
| authority = [[Philip Miller|Mill.]]
| synonyms = 
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
 |title={{small|synonymy}}
|''Laurus persea''<br/> {{small|L.}}
|''Persea americana'' var. ''angustifolia''<br/> {{small|Miranda}} 
|''Persea americana'' var. ''drymifolia''<br/> {{small|(Cham. & Schltdl.) S.F. Blake }}
|''Persea americana'' var. ''nubigena''<br/> {{small|(L.O. Williams) L.E. Kopp}}
|''Persea drymifolia''<br/> {{small|Cham. & Schltdl.}} 
|''Persea edulis''<br/> {{small|Raf.}} 
|''Persea floccosa''<br/> {{small|Mez}} 
|''Persea gigantea''<br/> {{small|L.O. Williams}} 
|''Persea gratissima''<br/> {{small|C.F.Gaertn.}}
|''Persea gratissima'' var. ''drimyfolia''<br/> {{small|(Schltdl. & Cham.) Mez}}
|''Persea gratissima'' var. ''macrophylla''<br/> {{small|[[Carl Meissner|Meisn.]]}}
|''Persea gratissima'' var. ''oblonga''<br/> {{small|Meisn.}} 
|''Persea gratissima'' var. ''praecox''<br/> {{small|Nees}}
|''Persea gratissima'' var. ''vulgaris''<br/> {{small|Meisn.}}
|''Persea leiogyna''<br/> {{small|Blake}}
|''Persea nubigena''<br/> {{small|L.O. Williams}}
|''Persea nubigena'' var. ''guatemalensis''<br/> {{small|L.O. Williams}}
|''Persea paucitriplinervia''<br/> {{small|Lundell}} 
|''Persea persea''<br/> {{small|(L.) Cockerell}}
|''Persea steyermarkii''<br/> {{small|C.K. Allen}}
}}
| synonyms_ref =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000465160|title=''Persea americana'' Mill.|website=World Flora Online|date=2022|publisher=The World Flora Online Consortium|access-date=25 May 2022}}</ref>
}}

The '''avocado''', '''alligator pear''' or '''avocado pear''' ('''''Persea americana''''') is an [[evergreen]] tree in the laurel family ([[Lauraceae]]). It is native to [[Americas|the Americas]] and was first domesticated in [[Mesoamerica]] more than 5,000 years ago. It was prized for its large and unusually [[Avocado oil|oily fruit]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-18 |title=Avocado History |url=https://avocadosfrommexico.com/avocados/history/ |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=Avocados From Mexico |language=en-US}}</ref> The tree likely originated in the highlands bridging south-central Mexico and [[Guatemala]].<ref name="morton">{{cite book|url= https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/avocado_ars.html|title=Avocado; In: Fruits of Warm Climates|author=Morton JF|pages=91–102|publisher=Center for New Crops and Plant Products, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN |date=1987|isbn=978-0-9610184-1-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ucavo.ucr.edu/General/HistoryName.html |title=What's in a name? | publisher=University of California|access-date=27 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="chen">{{cite journal |doi=10.1093/jhered/esn068 |pmid=18779226 |title=Tracing the Geographic Origins of Major Avocado Cultivars |journal=Journal of Heredity |volume=100 |issue=1 |pages=56–65 |year=2008 |last1=Chen |first1=H |last2=Morrell |first2=PL |last3=Ashworth |first3=V |last4=de la Cruz |first4=M |last5=Clegg |first5=MT |doi-access=free|url=https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/100/1/56/771306}}</ref> Avocado trees have a native growth range from Mexico to [[Costa Rica]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:325643-2|title= Persea Americana Avocado}}</ref> 

Its fruit, sometimes also referred to as an '''alligator pear''' or '''avocado pear''', is botanically a large [[Berry (botany)|berry]] containing a single large seed.<ref name="storey">{{cite journal|author=Storey, W. B. |url=http://ucavo.ucr.edu/General/FruitBerry.html |title=What kind of fruit is the avocado? |journal=California Avocado Society 1973–74 Yearbook |volume=57 |pages=70–71|year=1973}}</ref> Sequencing of its genome showed that the evolution of avocados was shaped by [[polyploidy]] events and that commercial varieties have a [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] origin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rendón-Anaya |first1=Martha |last2=Ibarra-Laclette |first2=Enrique |last3=Méndez-Bravo |first3=Alfonso |last4=Lan |first4=Tianying |last5=Zheng |first5=Chunfang |last6=Carretero-Paulet |first6=Lorenzo |last7=Perez-Torres |first7=Claudia Anahí |last8=Chacón-López |first8=Alejandra |last9=Hernandez-Guzmán |first9=Gustavo |last10=Chang |first10=Tien-Hao |last11=Farr |first11=Kimberly M. |last12=Barbazuk |first12=W. Brad |last13=Chamala |first13=Srikar |last14=Mutwil |first14=Marek |last15=Shivhare |first15=Devendra |date=2019-08-20 |title=The avocado genome informs deep angiosperm phylogeny, highlights introgressive hybridization, and reveals pathogen-influenced gene space adaptation |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=116 |issue=34 |pages=17081–17089 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1822129116 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=6708331 |pmid=31387975 |bibcode=2019PNAS..11617081R |doi-access=free }}</ref> Avocado trees are partly [[Self-pollination|self-pollinating]], and are often [[Plant propagation|propagated]] through [[grafting]] to maintain consistent fruit output.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/spring/growing-avocados-flowering-pollination-and-fruit-set|title=Growing avocados: flowering, pollination and fruit set|website=Government of Western Australia: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development}}</ref> Avocados are presently cultivated in the tropical and [[Mediterranean climate]]s of many countries.<ref name="morton" /> {{as of|2023}}, [[Agriculture in Mexico|Mexico]] is the world's [[List of countries by avocado production|leading producer]] of avocados, supplying 29% of the global harvest of 10.5 million [[tonne]]s.<ref name="faostat" />

The fruit of domestic varieties have smooth, buttery, golden-green flesh when ripe. Depending on the [[cultivar]], avocados have green, brown, purplish, or black skin, and may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. For commercial purposes, the fruits are picked while unripe and ripened after harvesting. The nutrient density and high fat content of avocado flesh are advantages for various cuisines, including vegetarian diets.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dreher |first1=Mark L. |last2=Davenport |first2=Adrienne J. |date=2013-01-01 |title=Hass Avocado Composition and Potential Health Effects |journal=Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition |volume=53 |issue=7 |pages=738–750 |doi=10.1080/10408398.2011.556759 |issn=1040-8398 |pmc=3664913 |pmid=23638933}}</ref>

In major production regions like [[Chile]], [[Mexico]] and [[California]], the water demands of avocado farms place strain on local resources.<ref name="footprint" /> Avocado production is implicated in other [[Externality|externalities]], including [[deforestation]] and human rights concerns associated with the partial control of their production in Mexico by [[Organized crime in Mexico|organized crime]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-17 |title=The Shocking Environmental Effects of Avocado Farming |url=https://www.voxnature.com/the-shocking-environmental-effects-of-avocado-farming/ |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=Vox Nature |language=en-US |archive-date=28 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728175549/https://www.voxnature.com/the-shocking-environmental-effects-of-avocado-farming/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Avocado consumption: environmental and social considerations |url=https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/avocado_consumption_environmental_and_social_considerations |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=MSU Extension |date=24 August 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Khan |first1=Nadeem |last2=Kakabadse |first2=Nada Korac- |last3=Skouloudis |first3=Antonis |date=2021-11-17 |title=Socio-ecological resilience and environmental sustainability: case of avocado from Mexico |journal=International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology |volume=28 |issue=8 |pages=744–758 |doi=10.1080/13504509.2021.1902419 |bibcode=2021IJSDW..28..744K |s2cid=233607375 |issn=1350-4509|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>Bravo-Espinosa, M., Mendoza, M.E., Carlo ́n Allende, T., Medina, L., S ́aenz-Reyes, J.T., Pa ́ez, R., 2014. Effects of converting forest to avocado orchards on topsoil properties in the trans-Mexican volcanic system, Mexico. Land Degrad. Dev. 25 (5), 452–467. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2163.</ref> Global warming is expected to result in [[Effects of climate change on agriculture|significant changes to the suitable growing zones]] for avocados, and place additional pressures on the locales in which they are produced due to [[heat wave]]s and drought.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-26 |title=What climate change means for the future of coffee, cashews, and avocados |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/what-climate-change-means-for-future-of-coffee-cashew-avocado |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126205119/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/what-climate-change-means-for-future-of-coffee-cashew-avocado |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 January 2022 |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=National Geographic Environment |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Grüter |first1=Roman |last2=Trachsel |first2=Tim |last3=Laube |first3=Patrick |last4=Jaisli |first4=Isabel |date=2022-01-26 |title=Expected global suitability of coffee, cashew and avocado due to climate change |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=e0261976 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0261976 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=8791496 |pmid=35081123|bibcode=2022PLoSO..1761976G |doi-access=free }}</ref>