Photo: safaritravelplus, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
Persea americana
Avocado (zaboka)
- Also called Avocado, Alligator pear, Butter fruit
- Haitian Creole Zaboka
- Spanish Aguacate
Evergreen tree, 10-20 m
What it is
Avocado is a large, spreading evergreen tree in the laurel family. Its leathery leaves are dark green above and paler below. In the dry season it is covered in masses of tiny greenish-yellow flowers. The fruits are pear-shaped or round, with green or purple skin, buttery flesh and one large seed. It is native to Mexico and Central America and is now grown in warm countries worldwide.
What it's used for
- Its rich fruit is eaten fresh, and in Haiti zaboka is sold in every market and eaten with bread, rice or salt.
- Its masses of flowers are visited by bees, which help it set fruit.
- A grown tree gives deep shade and can bear fruit for decades.
- Its seed and leaves are not eaten; the leaves are toxic to some livestock.
Where we plant it
Our partners plant the mix of native species that suits each site and season, so a gift plants trees in the project rather than this one species. Persea americana is one of the species planted there.
More trees planted in Pollinator Agroforestry in Haiti
Pigeon pea (pwa kongo)Cajanus cajan
Yellow mombin (monben)Spondias mombin
Candelabra spurgeEuphorbia lactea
Moringa (benzolive)Moringa oleifera
Red mombin (siwèl)Spondias purpurea
Lemon (sitwon)Citrus limon
Coconut palm (kokoye)Cocos nucifera
Breadfruit (lam veritab)Artocarpus altilis
See all 16 species in Pollinator Agroforestry in Haiti
Other species we plant
Mangrove Restoration in Kenya
4 species
Rebuilding Oregon's Forests
5 species
Reforestation in Tamil Nadu, India
37 species
LimeberryBaheda or Beleric myrobalanBig-fruited jamunSouth Indian suregadaJamun, Naval or Black plumDevil pepper or Wild snakerootWoody-fruited PterospermumCork-leaved bayurVengai, Vijaysar or Indian kinoCeylon boxwoodCorky debbar treePanakka treeWinged naringi, a wild citrusPamburus, a wild citrus relativeElumbotti, the bone-knit shrubClimbing olaxBakul, Magizham or Spanish cherryKaya or Ironwood treeNotched-leaf spike thornPalai, Palu or KhirniPointed-leaf jasmineIndian screw tree or ValampuriGrewia, a dry-country shrubGrewia, a dry-forest shrubOrangeberry or KonjiGarlic fruit or Bitter garciniaHairy fig or PeyattiWild karanda or ConkerberryCansjera, a native forest climberShining bush-violetVagai or Siris treeUsilai or Krishna sirisChokkalai or Droopy leafWild lime or Kattu elumichaiKorinti, a custard-apple relativeIndian allophylus or TitberryLolly berry or Saptarangi
