Avocado: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Nov. 3, 2026

News •

Church donates and distributes 200,000 fruit trees throughout Kenya • Oct. 30, 2026, 5:41 PM ET (Deseret News)

Facts

Also Known As	alligator pear • avocado pear • ahuacatl • Persea americana • aguacate

Photos and Videos

Whole avocado fruit with dark, textured skin next to two halves, one showing the large seed and the other an empty pit cavity, against a white background.

Cluster of ripe green avocados (Persea americana) hanging from a tree branch with glossy leaves, set against a background of greenery and a paved path.

A whole avocado and an avocado sliced in half, showing the large pit, or seed, inside.

Bowl of guacamole surrounded by tortilla chips on a wooden plate, with tomatoes and limes blurred in the background.

Why avocados are considered a superfood

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

West Indian avocado Guatemalan avocado Hass avocado Mexican avocado guacamole fruit Persea Banana Grape goji berry Apple Fig Mango Orange Lemon Peach Tomato

Red and yellow cherry tomatoes, some forming a question mark, against a light blue background. (organic, fruits, vegetables)

Fruit or Vegetable? A Quiz

Chef tossing vegetables in a frying pan over a burner (skillet, food).

What’s on the Menu? Vocabulary Quiz

Venus's-flytrap. Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) one of the best known of the meat-eating plants. Carnivorous plant, Venus flytrap, Venus fly trap

Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous