Makkhanaphal / Avocado Pear
Persea americana
Also known as Soldier's Butter, Butter Fruit, Alligator Pear, Aguacate, Abacate
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- February-September
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Persea americana
- Genus
- Persea
- Family
- Lauraceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Native to
- Tropical America
- Distribution
- Cultivated in most parts of the world
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Telangana, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
- Flowering & fruiting
- February-September
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Makkhanaphal itself; the rest are typical of the Lauraceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Panicle
- Fruit
- Drupe
Typical of the Lauraceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- मक्खनफल makkhanaphal,रूचिरा ruchira
- Nepali
- एभोकाडो
- Bengali
- অ্যাভোকাডো, মাখনফল
- Tamil
- வெண்ணெய்ப் பழம், வெண்ணெய் பழம்
- Telugu
- వెన్న పండు, అవకాడో, మొసలి బేరి పండు
- Kannada
- ಆವಕಾಡೊ
- Malayalam
- വെണ്ണപ്പഴം, അവ്കാഡൊ, Avocado
- Marathi
- अॅव्होकॅडो
Makkhanaphal in India
Avocado, known as मक्खनफल (Hindi), வெண்ணெய்ப் பழம் (Tamil), వెన్న పండు (Telugu), ಆವಕಾಡೊ (Kannada), വെണ്ണപ്പഴം (Malayalam), अॅव्होकॅडो (Marathi), is an increasingly popular fruit tree in India's cooler hill regions. Persea americana is grown across , generally where a mild, frost-free climate allows it to fruit.
Uses
The fruit's rich, buttery flesh is eaten fresh, mashed, or added to salads and, increasingly, smoothies and toast — valued for its high content of healthy fats.
How to Identify Makkhanaphal
An evergreen tree with glossy, elliptic leaves. Small greenish-yellow flowers cluster inconspicuously among the leaves, followed by the familiar pear-shaped to round fruit with rough or smooth skin, ripening to a dull green, purple or near-black depending on the variety, and containing one large round seed.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Avocado Pear called in different Indian languages?
- मक्खनफल (Hindi); வெண்ணெய்ப் பழம் (Tamil); వెన్న పండు (Telugu); ಆವಕಾಡೊ (Kannada); വെണ്ണപ്പഴം (Malayalam); अॅव्होकॅडो (Marathi); অ্যাভোকাডো (Bengali).
- Where is avocado grown in India?
- Mainly in cooler hill regions with a mild, frost-free climate — parts of the Nilgiris, the Himalayan foothills and the North-East are the main areas where it's cultivated.
- How can you tell an avocado is ripe?
- A ripe avocado yields to gentle pressure from the palm of the hand, rather than firm finger-poking which can bruise the flesh.
Lauraceae
Laurel/Cinnamon family
Makkhanaphal belongs to the Lauraceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
All plant problem & care guides →More in Lauraceae
View all Lauraceae →Sources: GBIF — Persea americana (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Persea americana (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)