Avocado

Abstract

The family Lauraceae consists primarily of tree species, a few of which are economically important, including avocado (Persea americana), bay leaf (Laurus nobilis), cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and camphor (Cinnamomum camphora). The avocado is the only commercially important fruit species within the family. The genus Persea (Clus.)Miller possibly originated in Gondwanaland, and spread to Asia and to North America via Europe. During the Paleocene, the genus must have spread to South America via Antarctica. When the land bridge between North and South America was established during the late Neocene, the genus would have been reunited. The Southeast Asian Machilus Nees, Nothaphoebe Blume and Alseodaphne Nees may be congeneric with Persea (Kostermans 1952).Central America has been an area of extensive speciation (Scora and Bergh 1990).There are two subgenera within the genus Persea, namely Eriodaphne (South America) and Persea (Central America) (Kopp 1966). Scora et al. (2002) identified three species within the subgenus Persea, these being P. schiedeana Nees, P. parviflora Williams and P. americana Mill.