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{{Taxobox
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__NOTOC__{{Plantbox
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| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Persea''
| name = ''Persea''
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| common_names = <!--- if multiple, list all, if none, leave blank -->
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| growth_habit = ? <!--- tree, shrub, herbaceous, vine, etc -->
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| high = ? <!--- 1m (3 ft) -->
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| wide = <!--- 65cm (25 inches) -->
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| origin = ? <!--- Mexico, S America, S Europe, garden, etc -->
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| poisonous = <!--- indicate parts of plants which are known/thought to be poisonous -->
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| lifespan = <!--- perennial, annual, etc -->
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| exposure = ? <!--- full sun, part-sun, semi-shade, shade, indoors, bright filtered (you may list more than 1) -->
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| water = ? <!--- frequent, regular, moderate, drought tolerant, let dry then soak -->
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| features = <!--- flowers, fragrance, fruit, naturalizes, invasive -->
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| hardiness = <!--- frost sensitive, hardy, 5°C (40°F), etc -->
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| bloom = <!--- seasons which the plant blooms, if it is grown for its flowers -->
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| usda_zones = ? <!--- eg. 8-11 -->
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| sunset_zones = <!--- eg. 8, 9, 12-24, not available -->
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| color = IndianRed
| image = Persea borbonia.jpg
| image = Persea borbonia.jpg
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| image_width = 240px
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| image_width = 240px <!--- leave as 240px if horizontal orientation photo, or change to 180px if vertical -->
| image_caption = ''Persea borbonia'' foliage and fruit
| image_caption = ''Persea borbonia'' foliage and fruit
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| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
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| regnum = Plantae
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| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
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| divisio = Magnoliophyta
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| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
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| classis = Magnoliopsida
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| ordo = [[Laurales]]
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| ordo = Laurales
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| familia = [[Lauraceae]]
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| familia = Lauraceae
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| genus = ''Persea''
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| genus = Persea
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| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
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| subdivision =
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See text.
}}
}}
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{{Inc|
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Persea (ancient Greek name of an Egyptian tree with sweet fruit;
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derivation unknown, probably from Perseus). Lauraceae. Woody plants
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sometimes grown for ornament; and one of them yields the avocado, one
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of the best of the semi-tropical fruits.
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'''''Persea''''' is a [[genus]] of about 150 species of [[evergreen]] [[trees]] belonging to the laurel family, [[Lauraceae]]. The best-known member of the genus is the [[Avocado]] ''P. americana'', widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible [[fruit]].
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Leaves alternate, entire: fls. small, hermaphrodite, usually in
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panicles; corolla wanting, the calyx deeply 6-parted; stamens usually
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12, in 4 series, with one series sterile; ovary sessile and tapering
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into a slender style bearing a simple stigma.—Shrubs and trees
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distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, most of the
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species being confined to S. Amer., but one coming from the Canary
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Isls. and a few from S. E. Asia. As defined by Bentham & Hooker, the
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genus contains about 100 species, but Meissner (DC. Prodr. 15, pt. 1.
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43) distributes some of the species in other genera and retains only
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50 in Persea. Mez, in his monograph on the American Lauraceae:
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(Jahrb. Konigl. Bot. Gart. 1889, 5. 135), describes 47 American
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species. P. gratissima, the avocado, widely cult, throughout Trop.
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Amer. and elsewhere for its fr., is the only species of great
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economic importance. Others are of ornamental value, and may prove
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useful as stocks upon which to bud or graft the avocado, although
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experiments have not been very encouraging up to the present. P.
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Borbonia grows naturally as far north as N. C.; P. indica is now and
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then seen in cult, in Fla. and Calif. Some of the Cent. American
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types referred to P. gratissima seem distinct, and may be found to
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constitute good species.
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They are medium-size trees, 15-30 m tall at maturity. The [[leaf|leaves]] are simple, lanceolate to broad lanceolate, varying with species from 5-30 cm long and 2-12 cm broad, and arranged spirally or alternately on the stems. The [[flower]]s are in short panicles, with six small greenish-yellow perianth segments 3-6 mm long, nine stamens and an ovary with a single embryo. The [[fruit]] is an oval or pear-shaped [[drupe]], with a fleshy outer covering surrounding the single [[seed]]; size is very variable between the species, from 1-1.5 cm in e.g. ''P. borbonia'' and ''P. indica'', up to 10-20 cm in ''P. americana''.
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P. drymifolia, Cham. & Schlect,, is now considered to be a form of P.
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gratissima; it is the type with anise-scented lvs. and small,
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thin-skinned frs. described above as Mexican. Mez recognizes it as a
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botanical variety and describes it along with another variety,
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P.gratissima var. Schiediana,also indigenous to Mex-The hardy avocado
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or yas of San Jose,Costa Rica has been referred by Werekle to
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P.frigida Lind., but this name is of doubtful validity. The fr. is
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figured by Collins (Bull. 77, Bur. Pl. Ind.), and is said to be of
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possible value for hybridization with more tender species. It is
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spherical, about 3 in. diam., with a very large seed.—P. lingue,
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Nees, and P. Meyeniana, Nees, are two species which have recently
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been intro. to the U. S. from Chile.
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{{SCH}}
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}}
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The species of ''Persea'' have a disjunct distribution, with about 70 [[Neotropic]] species, ranging from [[Brazil]] and [[Chile]] in [[South America]] to [[Central America]] and [[Mexico]], the [[West Indies]], and the southeastern [[United States]]; a single species, ''P. indica'', [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to the [[Macaronesia]]n islands, including [[Madeira]] and the [[Canary Islands]]; and 80 species inhabiting [[East Asia|east]] and [[Southeast Asia|southeast]] [[Asia]]. None of the species is very tolerant of severe winter cold, with the hardiest, ''P. borbonia'', ''P. ichangensis'' and ''P. lingue'', surviving temperatures down to about -12°C; they also require continuously moist soil, and do not tolerate drought.
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==Cultivation==
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{{edit-cult}}<!--- Type cultivation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
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Fossil evidence indicates that the genus originated in [[West Africa]] during the [[Paleocene]], and spread to Asia, to South America, and to Europe and thence to [[North America]]. It is thought that the gradual drying of Africa, west Asia, and the [[Mediterranean]] from the [[Oligocene]] to the [[Pleistocene]], and the [[glaciation]] of [[Europe]] during the Pleistocene, caused the extinction of the genus across these regions, resulting in the present distribution.
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===Propagation===
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{{edit-prop}}<!--- Type propagation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
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''Persea'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including [[Giant Leopard Moth]], ''[[Coleophora|Coleophora octagonella]]'' (feeds exclusively on ''P. carolinensis'') and ''[[Hypercompe|Hypercompe indecisa]]''.
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===Pests and diseases===
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{{edit-pests}}<!--- Type pest/disease info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
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===Classification===
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==Species==
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The genus ''Persea'' is treated in three subgenera. The Asian subgenus ''Machilus'' is treated in a separate genus '''''Machilus''''' by many authors, including in the ''Flora of China'', while graft-incompatibility between subgenus ''Persea'' and subgenus ''Eriodaphne'' suggests that these too may be better treated as distinct genera, in fact [[André Joseph Guillaume Henri Kostermans|Kostermans]] (1993) founded the genus ''Mutisiopersea'' for these. Another closely related genus ''[[Beilschmiedia]]'' is also sometimes included in ''Persea''.
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The genus ''Persea'' is treated in three subgenera{{SCH}}. The Asian subgenus ''Machilus'' is treated in a separate genus '''''Machilus''''' by many authors, including in the ''Flora of China'', while graft-incompatibility between subgenus ''Persea'' and subgenus ''Eriodaphne'' suggests that these too may be better treated as distinct genera, in fact [[André Joseph Guillaume Henri Kostermans|Kostermans]] (1993) founded the genus ''Mutisiopersea'' for these{{SCH}}. Another closely related genus ''[[Beilschmiedia]]'' is also sometimes included in ''Persea''{{SCH}}.
;Subgenus ''Persea'' - [[Central America]]. Two species.
;Subgenus ''Persea'' - [[Central America]]. Two species.
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*''Persea yunnanensis''
*''Persea yunnanensis''
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==References and external links==
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==Gallery==
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*[[André Joseph Guillaume Henri Kostermans|Kostermans, A. J. G .H.]] (1993). Mutisiopersea Kostermans, a new genus in Lauraceae. ''Rheedea'' 3: 132–135.
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{{photo-sources}}<!-- remove this line if there are already 3 or more photos in the gallery -->
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*Kopp, Lucille E. (1966) "A taxonomic revision of the genus Persea in the Western Hemisphere (''Persea-Lauracese'')" ''Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden'' 14(1): pp. 1-117
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*[http://www.avocadosource.com Avocado source] Extensive information on the [[Avocado]] and the genus generally, particularly the subgenera ''Persea'' and ''Eriodaphne''
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<gallery>
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*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=124627 Flora of North America: ''Persea'']
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Image:Upload.png| photo 1
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*[http://www.efloras.org/browse.aspx?flora_id=3&start_taxon_id=119262 Flora of China: ''Machilus''] Full list of species in ''Machilus'' in China
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Image:Upload.png| photo 2
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Image:Upload.png| photo 3
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</gallery>
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==References==
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*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
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<!--- xxxxx *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381 -->
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<!--- xxxxx *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432 -->
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<!--- xxxxx *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608 -->
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==External links==
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*{{wplink}}
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{{stub}}
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[[Category:Categorize]]
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[[Category:Laurales]]
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