The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was prized for its large and unusually oily fruit. The tree likely originated in the highlands bridging south-central Mexico and Guatemala. Avocado trees have a native growth range from Mexico to Costa Rica. Its fruit, sometimes also referred to as an alligator pear or avocado pear, is botanically a large berry containing a single large seed. Sequencing of its genome showed that the evolution of avocados was shaped by polyploidy events and that commercial varieties have a hybrid origin. Avocado trees are partly self-pollinating, and are often propagated through grafting to maintain consistent fruit output. Avocados are presently cultivated in the tropical and Mediterranean climates of many countries. Mexico is the world's leading producer of avocados as of 2020, supplying nearly 30% of the global harvest in that year.
Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide. They are dicotyledons, and occur mainly in warm temperate and tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America. Many are aromatic evergreen trees or shrubs, but some, such as Sassafras, are deciduous, or include both deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, especially in tropical and temperate climates. The genus Cassytha is unique in the Lauraceae in that its members are parasitic vines. Most laurels are highly poisonous.
The pomelo, also known as a shaddock and from the family Rutaceae, is the largest citrus fruit. It is an ancestor of several cultivated citrus species, including the bitter orange and the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefruit, the pomelo is commonly eaten and used for festive occasions throughout Southeast and East Asia. As with the grapefruit, phytochemicals in the pomelo have the potential for drug interactions.
Chlorocardium rodiei (greenheart) is a species of flowering plant in the family Lauraceae. It is one of two species in the genus Chlorocardium. It is native to Guyana and Suriname in South America. Other common names include cogwood, demerara greenheart, greenhart, ispingo moena, sipiri, bebeeru and bibiru.
Gomortega keule is a species of tree endemic to Chile. It is the sole species of the genus Gomortega and, according to the APG IV system of 2016, of the monotypic family Gomortegaceae, assigned to the order Laurales in the clade magnoliids.
Actinodaphne is an Asian genus of flowering plants in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It contains approximately 125 species of dioecious evergreen trees and shrubs.
Tecoma stans is a species of flowering perennial shrub in the trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae, that is native to the Americas. Common names include yellow trumpetbush, yellow bells, yellow elder, ginger Thomas. Tecoma stans is the official flower of the United States Virgin Islands and the floral emblem of The Bahamas.
Actinodaphne bourneae is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to Tamil Nadu in India. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Actinodaphne fragilis is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is a tree endemic to Peninsular Malaysia.
Actinodaphne johorensis is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to Peninsular Malaysia. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Actinodaphne lanata is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to the Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu, India.
Actinodaphne lawsonii is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Actinodaphne montana is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is a tree endemic to Peninsular Malaysia. The Latin specific epithet montana refers to mountains or coming from mountains.
Actinodaphne pruinosa is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is a tree which grows 18 to 20 metres tall. It is native to Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, and Borneo.
Madhuca bourdillonii is a species of flowering plant in the family Sapotaceae. It is endemic to India, where it is known only from Kerala. Recent surveys failed to locate any specimens. The species has been exploited for its wood.
Ocotea foetens, commonly called til or stinkwood is a species of tree in the family Lauraceae. It is evergreen and grows up to 40 m tall. It is a common constituent of the laurisilva forests of Madeira and the Canary Islands. Leaf fossils of this species are known from the Mio-Pleistocene of Madeira Island.
Endiandra compressa, commonly known as whitebark or greenheart, is a rainforest tree in the Lauraceae family endemic to eastern Australia. It was first described in 1919 and has been given the conservation status of least concern.
Garcinia indica, a plant in the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae), commonly known as kokum, is a fruit-bearing tree that has culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. It grows primarily in India's Western Ghats: in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. It is considered as an endemic species to the Western Ghats and forests in India.
Hypodaphnis is a monotypic genus of flowering plants of the family Lauraceae. Its only extant species, Hypodaphnis zenkeri, is native to Gabon. Although only one living species is known, fossils of some species of this genus are present in North America, especially in Northern Mexico. In most phylogenetic analysis, Hypodaphnis appears as the basal branch, the sister group of the rest of the family Lauraceae.
Dipterocarpus bourdillonii is a species of large tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae endemic to the Western Ghats principally in the state of Kerala in India. It is a Critically Endangered species according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is a characteristic tree of the low-elevation tropical wet evergreen rainforests in the Western Ghats.
