Page 66 - Port Douglas Magazine 28

Amazing

transsexual identity crisis! Avocado’s!

The berry with a

WORDS by Rosie Wang
Don’t be a psychologist for an avocado, The rise of the ‘avo’ branch. Farmers use the trees as a
as they are a very misunderstood Avocados are indigenous to Central America storage device (for up to 7 months)
berry, with a “don’t judge a book by and the Caribbean and there are around 400 after the fruit reaches maturity.
its cover” exterior. It’s scaly on the different types. Hass is the most favoured by 3. Avocados have been grown in Peru
outside, hence its nickname “alligator consumers, chefs and growers. for more than 3000 years, according to
evidence from archaeological digs.
pear”, but with the healthiest insides Fuerte was the best known in the USA
until the 1930’s when Rudolf Hass, a green 4. Despite this long history, there was no
that deem it a “super food”.
fingered postman, patented a tree he had written record of the word avocado in
Avocado has even been portrayed like a gold grown. England until 1696, when it appeared
digger mistress. Multi-millionaire property Avocados have been grown in Australia as in a book on Jamaican plants.
developer Tim Gurner, on the TV programme early as the mid-eighteenth century. The 5. Avocados trees are a laid back bunch
60 minutes, blamed smashed ‘avo-on-toast’ crop can be grown from latitudes 17 to 34 – they typically take between four and
as one of the reasons millennials were unable deg S. One of the main growing areas is here six years to bear fruit.
to save for a mortgage.
on the Atherton Tablelands (four million 6. Avocado is in fact a climacteric fruit,
Avocados do in fact change genders trays predicted this year!). just like the banana, which means that
throughout the day as part of a self- it ripens once it is picked.
pollination (dichogamy) process. A-type Avo Facts
flowers open as female in the morning and 1. Avocados contain more (good) fat 7. Avocado itself is good for animals, but
become male in the afternoon. B-type flowers than any other fruit or vegetable. Over the leaves, skin and pits, if consumed,
are male in the morning and open to pollen 75% is monounsaturated fat and is are potentially lethal to many animals,
as female in the afternoon. considered an “oil” including dogs and cats.
2. Avocado trees contain enzymes that
prevent them from ripening on the

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