Most of the edible fruits grown in temperate climates are produced by seven plant
- Rosaceae—apples, pears, quinces, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots,
plums, damsons, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. - Rutaceae—oranges, tangerines, kumquats, lemons, limes and grapefruit.
- Grossulariaceae—blackcurrants, red currants, white currants and gooseberries.
- Moraceae—figs, white and black mulberries, hops and breadfruit.
- Ericaceae—bilberries, blueberries, cranberries and huckleberries.
- Oleaceae—olives.
- Vitaceae—grapes.
This section on Fruit describes seven of the tropical and sub-tropical fruits which
are the most likely to be useful for subsistence or small scale food producers in
warmer climates:
figs (Moraceae), olives (Oleaceae), melons (Cucurbitaceae), langsat (Meliaceae)
and pineapples (Bromeliaceae).
Avocado
Persea americana (Syn. P. gratissima)
Alligator Pear, Avocado Pear, Butter Pear, Midshipman s Butter, Summer Pear,
Vegetable Butter
Palta — Mexico (Spanish); Abacate — fruit, Abacateiro — tree^
(Portuguese); Abocado (Ethiopia)
Avocados are the most nutritious of all the fruits, and have been called “the butter of
the poor”. They are rich in Vitamins A, B complex, C, D and E, and some varieties
contain more than 3000 calories per kilogram. The mono-unsaturated oil (3–30%) is
very digestible.
They originated in Central and South America, where they are still an important
food crop, and these days are also grown in most tropical and subtropical countries.
It is said that the name “avocado” comes from the Spanish aguacate, from the
Náhuatl/Aztec word for testicle, ahuacatl.
Avocados have recently become an important food crop. Global production in 2004
was estimated by FAO at 3 million MT, grown on a large scale in USA, South
Africa, Israel, Australia and Southeast Asia.
families:
244 TONY WINCH
avocado (Lauraceae), banana (Musaceae), citrus (Rutaceae), guava (Myrtaceae),
mango(Anacardiaceae), papaya (Caricaceae) and watermelon (Cucurbitaceae).
Other subtropical fruits include: coconuts (Palmae), dates (Palmae or Arecaceae),
’
Avocat, Avocatier, Poire d’avocat (French); Ahuacatl, Aguacate,
Cura, Cupandra,