The avocado (Perseaamericana) is a fruit that is native to Mexico and Central America. It is a green, pear-shaped fruit with a large seed in the center. The flesh of the avocado is creamy and rich in nutrients, including healthy fats, fiber, and potassium.
Avocados are pear-shaped fruits that grow on tropical evergreen trees.
They generally have a rough, green outer skin, buttery flesh, and large seed in the middle.
Coming in many shapes, sizes, colors, and textures, their flavor is often described as mildly nutty and creamy.
Though you may only be familiar with a few types of avocado, hundreds of varieties are cultivated around the world — with 56 growing in Florida alone. Many are hybrids, meaning that they’re the result of two varieties being bred together to create a new one.
Avocados are highly nutritious. They’re great sources of folate, potassium, and healthy fats, as well as vitamins K, C, and E. They also contain small amounts of B vitamins and minerals, such as copper, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, iron, and zinc
The monounsaturated fats in avocados — most of which are oleic acid — are good for your heart, fight inflammation, and may have anticancer properties. Eating avocados can also help you better absorb other fat-soluble nutrients
Furthermore, avocados are full of fiber, an important nutrient lacking in most Western diets. Some studies have found that people who eat avocados tend to weigh less, perhaps due to the fruit’s high content of fiber and healthy fat, as well as its low glycemic index
While you may only see a few types of avocado at your local grocery store, hundreds of varieties grow around the world. Though many hybrids exist, all avocados can be traced to either Guatemalan, Mexican, or West Indian origin.
The fruits are categorized as either A-type or B-type cultivars. The difference lies in the opening times and pollination behaviors of the avocado tree flowers. The type of cultivar has little effect on consumers and matters more to those who grow avocados.
Avocados are partially self-pollinating through a process called dichogamy. A-type flowers bloom as females in the morning and shed pollen as males in the afternoon. Oppositely, B-type flowers receive pollen in the afternoon and shed it in the morning.
A-type cultivars
Though there are many more, below are some of the better-known A-type-cultivar avocados:
Lula. The Lula peaks during the summertime, has fewer natural oils, and contains more water than many other varieties. It’s resistant to cold but highly susceptible to fungi. The Lula grows to weigh around 1 pound (450 grams).
Hass. The Hass is the most popular variety. It’s available all year round and has a buttery, nutty flavor and spherical shape. Its skin turns from a bold green to a dark purplish-black as it ripens.
Reed. The Reed is only available during the summer months. It has a lighter, more subtle flavor and is about the size of a softball. As the Reed ripens, its skin remains the same green color, unlike other types.
Pinkerton. The Pinkerton has an oblong shape, rough skin that is easy to peel, and small seed inside of a creamy flesh. This type grows to 0.5–1.5 pounds (225–680 grams).
Gwen. The Gwen is similar to the Hass avocado in taste and appearance. This is a larger Guatemalan variety with a thick, dark-green skin that is easy to remove.
Maluma. The Maluma is a dark-purple avocado that was discovered in the 1990s in South Africa. This variety grows slowly, but the trees bear a lot of fruit.
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