The avocado (Persea americana) is a tree native to Mexico and Central America, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. The name "avocado" is also applied to the fruit of the avocado tree.
The tree grows to 20 metres (65 ft), with alternately arranged, evergreen leaves, 12–25 centimetres long. The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 5–10 millimetres wide. The pear-shaped fruit is botanically a berry, from 7 to 20 centimetres long, weighs between 100 and 1000 grams, and has a large central seed, 3 to 5 centimetres in diameter.
An average avocado tree produces about 120 avocados annually. Commercial orchards produce an average of 7 tonnes per hectare each year, with some orchards achieving 20 tonnes per hectare. Biennial bearing can be a problem, with heavy crops in one year being followed by poor yields the next. The fruit is sometimes called an avocado pear or alligator pear, due to its shape and rough green skin. The avocado tree does not tolerate freezing temperatures, and so can be grown only in subtropical or tropical climates.