Avocado, also called Alligator Pear, fruit of Persea Americana of the family Lauraceae, a tree native to the Western Hemisphere from Mexico, south to the Andean regions. Avocado fruits have greenish or yellowish flesh with a buttery consistency and a rich, nutty flavour. They are often eaten in salads, and in many parts of the world they are eaten as a dessert. Mashed avocado is the principal ingredient of guacamole, a characteristic sauce in Mexican cuisine. Avocados provide thiamin, riboflavin, and Vitamin A, and in some varieties the flesh contains as much as 25 percent unsaturated oil.