About the Book
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 30. Chapters: Avocado, Ficus aurea, Roystonea regia, Liquidambar styraciflua, Manchineel, Bursera simaruba, Muntingia, Avicennia germinans, Swietenia macrophylla, Sabal mexicana, Tabebuia rosea, Abies guatemalensis, Genipa americana, Cedrela odorata, Erythrina fusca, Amyris elemifera, Mexican White Pine, Acoelorrhaphe, Annona glabra, Crescentia alata, Castilla elastica, Caribbean Pine, Arbutus xalapensis, Psidium guajava, Cordia sebestena, Guaiacum sanctum, Pouteria sapota, Pouteria campechiana, Schefflera morototoni, Magnolia guatemalensis, Crescentia cujete, Sideroxylon celastrinum, Sabal mauritiiformis, Wild Cashew, Attalea cohune, Annona purpurea, Cassia grandis, Heliocarpus americanus, Taxus globosa, Swietenia humilis, Saurauia montana. Excerpt: The avocado (Persea americana) is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel. Avocado or alligator pear also refers to the fruit (botanically a large drupe that contains a large seed) of the tree, which may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped or spherical. Avocados are commercially valuable, and are cultivated in tropical and mediterranean climates throughout the world, producing a green-skinned, pear-shaped fruit that ripens after harvesting. Trees are partially self-pollinating and often are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit. Native "criollo" avocados, the precursor to today's domesticated varietiesP. americana, or the avocado, originated in the state of Puebla, Mexico. The native, undomesticated variety is known as a criollo, and is small, with dark black skin, and contains a large seed. The oldest evidence of avocado use was found in a cave located in Coxcatlan, Puebla, Mexico, that dates to around 10,000 BC. The avocado tree also has a long history of...
