To speed up the ripening of a hard and unripe avocado fruit, it can be placed in a paper bag with a banana and kept at room temperature until it softens.Ĭommon Therapeutic Uses and Health Benefits of AvocadoĪctive Ingredient and Substances: The leaves contain essential oil (with estragole, caryophyllene and eugenol), flavonoids (afzelin, cynaroside, luteolin, quercetin), tannins and procyanidins. The avocado fruit has high nutritional levels and is primarily used as food. The bark is harvested from young branches after pruning and used in decoction and an oil is extracted from the seeds which is primarily used in cosmetic products. The leaves are collected during the growing season and dried for later use in infusions, teas, and extracts. The fruits are picked unripe for export or mature to be used for its oil. Plant Parts Used: The fruit, bark, leaves, oil and seeds are used as food and/or herbal medicine. Each fruit contains one large seed that is easy to remove when the fruit is ripe. It has a creamy texture and a nutty flavor. The fruit can be green, yellow-green, dark purple, green, reddish-brown, brown or almost black. The color of the fruit can vary greatly, depending on the plant variant/species. The avocado tree produces fruit first after reaching five years of age. The small, greenish-yellow flowers sit in clusters and are followed by oblong to oval, spherical or pear-shaped fruit, up to 12 cm long. They are 10-25 cm long and have a leathery surface, a bit like bay laurel leaves (Laurus nobilis). The leaves are oval to elliptical, pointed, dark green on the uppers side and light green underneath. Commercially grown trees are usually kept to 3-4 meters. The avocado tree needs a nutrient-rich soil with a good drainage and grows best in sunny and wind protected areas.ĭescription: Avocado is a thick and richly branched tree that can grow up to 15 to 20 meters in height. In the year 2000, the world production of avocados was estimated to be 2 million tons, a figure that is now assumed to have doubled. Today, it is commercially cultivated in many countries in the tropics and subtropics, mostly in California (US), Mexico, Chile, Israel, Spain, Australia and South Africa. Because of its tasteful and nutritious fruit (botanically a large berry), it has probably been cultivated in these areas since ancient times. Habitat: The avocado tree belongs to the Lauraceae family and it is originally native to Mexico and South and Central America, where it grows in the wild. Other Common Names: Avocado pear, alligator pear, midshipman’s butter, vegetable marrow, avocatier (French), aguacate (Spanish), avokado (Swedish). The plant Genus “Persea” contains about 150 species.
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