Avocados are superfoods that have been around for centuries and are among the most nutritious foods. They are generally available in a variety of tastes and sizes. Avocados are native to Central America, but they can now be found all around the world. They are an extremely versatile food that can be used in many different ways, including as an ingredient in salads, guacamole, dips and desserts.

There are hundreds of varieties of avocados with majority even not having names. This article provides a breakdown of the different types of Avocado so that you can make the most out of your avocado-loving experience.

List of Avocados In North America

• Hass
• Choquette
• Fuerte
• Gwen
• Lula
• Mexicola Cocktail
• Reed
• Pinkerton
• Wurtz
• Maluma
• Simmonds
• Stewart
• Sir Price
• Puebla
• Nabal
• Long Neck
• Mexicola Grande
• Semil 34
• Zutano
• Ettinger
• Carlsbad
• Whitsell
• Bacon
• Criollor

Avocado trees bear flowers from January to March. The blossoms are prefect or bisexual. The flowers attract bees and hoverflies that help in pollination. Consequently, each avocado variety has flowers categorized as type A or type B, depending on opening times.

• Type A blooms open as female, receptive to pollen, in the morning and then shed pollen, as male, the following afternoon.
• Type B flowers open as females and receptive to pollen in the afternoon. They reopen as males and shed pollen the next morning. 

Description

Hass Avocado

Tree Size: 15 to 20 feet tall.

Fruit Size: 12-15 ounces

Description: Hass avocado is the most popular avocado in the world today. This avocado is distinguishable by its distinctive rich green color and smooth dense texture. The flesh is soft, creamy and barely fibrous, with good oil content.

They can vary in size from 15 to 12 ounces with a rich flavor that is slightly nutty and milder than other varieties. This Avocado is grown in California, Florida, Texas and Mexico, with the majority of commercial production in California.

Choquette Avocado

Tree Size: 15-60 feet

Fruit Size: 30-40 ounces

Nicknamed the Florida avocado is a commercial avocado cultivar that originated in Florida in the 19^th century. The name Choquette comes the French word ‘’chouquette’’ which means ‘’little quail’’ referring to the shape of the fruit. Choquette Avocados are grown in Mexico, Florida and California.

Their fruits are typically large with a glossy, soft, smooth green skin that peels easily. The avocado flesh is creamy, developing a denser consistency and have a mild, aniseed flavor with subtle sweet and nutty notes.

Fuerte Avocado

Tree Size: 20-60 feet

Fruit Size: 8-12 ounces

The Fuerte Avocado is an avocado variety that has been grown in United States and Canada from the mid-18^th century. The name Fuerte, meaning strong or hardy in Spanish, was given to this variety because it survived the great freeze of 1913 in Loss Angeles.

The Fuerte avocado is green in color, has a medium-thin skin and is slightly oval in shape.  The size of the fruit ranges between 8 and 12 ounces whereas the flesh inside is creamy and buttery, with a strong taste of butter and notes of hazelnut. It is generally considered by many in North America as the best tasting avocado.

Lula Avocado

Tree Size: 15 to 35 feet

Fruit Size: 14-24 ounces

Fruit Color: Glossy, bright green

Lula is a delicious avocado known for its creamy and softer texture. The fruit is routinely round featuring a glossy, bright green skin. The flesh is pale to greenish yellow with an exceptionally mild flavor and rich buttery taste, making it a popular choice for sauces and dips.

Lula is known for its exceptionally long harvesting period and to be among the hardiest, tolerating temperatures as low as 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Lula is native to Florida and is widely grown in United States from Florida, Orlando, Texas, California to Dakota. 

Gwen Avocado

Tree Size: 10-16 feet

Fruit Size: 8-14 ounces

Fruit Color: Bright green to dull green

The Gwen avocado is a slightly large, oval-shaped avocado, averaging between 8 to 14 ounces. It was developed in the late 1970s at the University of California, Riverside and features a pebbly greenish skin that remains green in color even when the Avocado is ripe. The flesh is about the same color and consistency as with the Hass avocado although it is creamier with superb nutty flavor and buttery texture.

Gwen trees average between 10 and 16 feet in height and produce numerous fruits that are uniformly distributed throughout the tree. Gwen avocados can be found in South Carolina, Mexico, Florida, Texas and Canada, though not in commercial cultivation.

Reed Avocado

Tree Size: 10-37 feet

Fruit Size: 10-18 ounces

Fruit Color: Bright green to dull green

Reed avocados are named after James S. Reed, a fruit farmer who found the chance seedling on his ranch in Carlsbad in 1984. Reed is a large avocado, round in shape and weighs between 10-18 ounces, about the size of a softball.

The green skin is thick and shell-like, but pliable and the flesh is pale golden-yellow, not darkening once cut open. The texture is buttery and the flavor nutty, just like that of Hass avocado. The productive reed trees are slender and upright, often growing up to 37 feet tall. Reed avocados are available in almost many places in Canada, Mexico and United States.

Pinkerton Avocado

Tree Size: 15-27 feet

Fruit Size: 17-20 ounces

Fruit Color: Green to dull green

Shape: Elongated pear Shape

The Pinkerton avocado is a hybrid of Hass and Rincon avocado. It’s one of the most popular avocados in North America, particularly United States. This avocado was first cultivated on the Pinkerton Ranch in Saticoy California between 1967-1972, owned by Wesley and John Pinkerton. The Pinkerton fruit is elongated pear shaped and green in color with a thin pliable, easy to peel skin. The skin remains green even when the avocado ripens.

The flesh has a creamier texture, yellow to green color and taste mildly nutty. The Pinkerton tree can be described as medium-size and spreading in nature. Everywhere it grows, it produces plenty of fruits, with some even ripening on the tree. It is also drought-tolerant and can thrive in poor soils.

Wurtz Avocado

Tree Size: 6-10 feet

Fruit Size: 8-14 ounces

Fruit Color: Green to dark green

Shape: Pear Shape

Wurtz avocado also referred to as little Cado is a hybrid of Mexican and Guatemalan avocado species. It was first bred in Encinitas California in 1936 by Roy Wurtz. This is a dwarf species of avocado reaching at most 10 feet in height with a distinctive weeping habit and featuring fruits of between 8 to 14 ounces.

The tree is heavy-bearing and can be grown in large containers and be easily maintained in smaller landscapes. The avocado fruit of this tree is pear-shaped, with dark green skin and smooth, creamy flesh that is rich in nutty flavor. Set inside the green-yellowish flesh is a seed that can range from small to large.

Maluma Avocado

Tree Size: 20-30 feet

Fruit Size: 150-400 grams

Fruit Color: Dark to deep purple at maturity

Description

Maluma Avocado is also common in North America from Hawaii, Texas to Florida in United States, Michoacan in Mexico, to Leamington, Canada. This avocado was first bred by Dries Joubert, a farmer from Levubu in South Africa, on his farm ‘Maluma’. It is also referred to as black-skinned avocado cultivar due to the easy to peel, dark purple color of the skin when ripe.

Maluma avocado are oblong fruits weighing between 150 grams to 400 grams. The flesh is thick and creamy, without fibers featuring a dense, rich and nutty flavor. Maluma Avocado tree is upright in nature and tend to have a spreading habit; reaching between 20 and 30 feet tall.

Simmonds Avocado

Tree Size: 18-32 feet

Fruit Size: 10-16 ounces

Fruit Color: Glossy green

The Simmonds is South Florida’s most popular early season Avocado. Simmonds avocado tree produce oval or pear-shaped fruit weighing between 10-16 ounces. The easy to peel skin is glossy and smooth, sometimes lightly pebbled, giving the surface a bumpy feel and is mainly found in shades of green to forest green, sometimes darkening into brown-green at maturity.

The flesh is yellow-green with a creamy and thick consistency featuring a small to medium seed. Simmonds tree grows upright with a spreading habit, capable of reaching between 18 and 32 feet tall.

Stewart Avocado

Tree Size: 18-30 feet

Fruit Size: 8-12 ounces

Fruit Color: Dark purple

Stewart avocado is a Mexican Avocado variety with ability to grow in different climates and is a perfect tree for any home gardens. The tree grows upright between 18 and 30 feet tall with a spread of about 6 feet. It produces heavily all year, but is especially prolific during summer.

The avocado fruit is generally pear-shaped with a thin dark purple skin. The flesh is vibrant greenish-yellow in color with a mildly, nutty flavor and an oily texture. The fruit averages between 8 to 12 ounces.

Sir Prize

Tree Size: 20-40 feet

Fruit Size: 10-20 ounces

Fruit Color: Black

Sir prize avocado tree is generally a medium to large avocado growing between 20-40 feet tall with a spreading canopy featuring uniform distribution of fruits. It is early-maturing and very productive in nature. The Sir prize is similar in appearance to the Hass avocado.

The fruit is pear-shaped, averaging between 10 and 20 ounces in weight with a pliable skin that remains black in color when ripe. The flesh is greenish-yellow in color with a mildly flavor and nutty notes. The flesh does not also decolorize or rather turn brown after it is cut and exposed to air.

Puebla Avocado

Tree Size: 20-60 feet

Fruit Size: 10-18 ounces

Fruit Color: Dark purple  

The Puebla avocado is thought to have originated from the state of Puebla, Mexico. It is grown all over the world from Kenya in East Africa to Asia, Canada and United States. The avocado tree grows to a height of about 20 meters (66 feet) with short trunks and a dense canopy of leaves.

The avocado is obovate to oval in shape, averaging between 10 to 18 ounces in weight and featuring a thin, smooth, glossy skin that develops a dark-purple hue at maturity. The flesh of the fruit is yellow-green and has a creamy, buttery texture with a nutty flavor. It is often used in guacamole, salads, sandwiches and as a condiment for tacos and burritos.

Nabal Avocado

Tree Size: 15-35 feet

Fruit Size: 12-20 ounces

Fruit Color: Green to dull green  

The Nabal avocado tree is a common avocado in North America, Mediterranean region and warm climates. It is thought to have originated from Guatemala in central America. The tree generally grows between 15 and 35 feet with a spreading crown. Nabal avocados are very large, weighing up to 20 ounces and they are very rounded, softball shape. The skin is somehow tough, dark-green and covered with yellow freckles.

The flesh is yellow-green with a creamy, soft and velvety consistency featuring a rich earthy and nutty flavor. Nabal avocados can be used in a variety of dishes, both sweet and savory. They can be added to salads, used as a spread on toast or used as a base for dips and sauces.

Long Neck Avocado

Tree Size: 20-40 feet

Fruit Size: 16-25 ounces

Fruit Color: Green to bright green 

Long Neck avocados are Native to Tanzania in East Africa region and have been around from 18 century. This avocado species is now common everywhere in tropical regions around the world including Florida, Mexico, Australia and Central America. The tree is medium to large growing up to 40 feet tall featuring a wide spreading canopy and a thick trunk. The long neck is gourd-like in shape and characterized with a green glossy skin.

The fruit can grow up to 13 inches in length and weigh between 16 and 25 ounces. The flesh is bright yellow to greenish, and at its center, there is a large, almond-shaped seed that is covered in a paper-like sheath. The flesh is watery yet creamy with a buttery and nutty flavor.

Semil 34 Avocado

Tree Size: 18-38 feet

Fruit Size: 15-25 ounces

Fruit Color: Green to dull green 

Semil 34 avocado originates from Dominica Republic, it is a hybrid between a Guatemalan and West Indian variety. It is a medium to large pear-shaped avocado weighing between 15 to 25 ounces with a smooth, slightly pebbled and easy to peel skin that stays green even when the fruit is fully ripe.

The flesh is greenish-yellow to bright yellow in color with a thick, creamy consistency and buttery, mildly flavor. The tree is generally a heavy producer with fruits uniformly distributed around the who canopy. It grows between 18-38 feet tall and is suitable for home gardens.

Zutano Avocado

Tree Size: 20-40 feet

Fruit Size: 8-14 ounces

Fruit Color: Glossy green to green 

Zutano avocado was first bred in Fallbrook, California in 1926 by R.L. Ruitt. Currently this Avocado variety can be found throughout North and central America, Africa and Asia. The Zutano tree grows upright reaching heights of between 20 to 40 feet with spreading branches, that result in a rounded canopy. The tree is a heavy but a late producer, especially in tropical climates.

Its fruit is similar in appearance to the fuerte avocado because of its pear shape and glossy green skin, which eventually remains green even when ripe. The fruits mature to about five inches in length, and about 8 to 14 ounces in weight. Just like many warm climate avocados, its flesh is green-yellow in color with creamy consistency and nutty flavor.

Ettinger Avocado

Tree Size: 30-40 feet

Fruit Size: 10-20 ounces

Fruit Color: Glossy green to bright green 

Avocado Type: B

Ettinger avocado is thought to have originated from Israel. It is a hybrid of the Mexican, west Indian and the Guatemalan avocados. This avocado tree grows between 30 and 40 feet tall with an open crown.

The avocado fruit is almost similar in appearance to the Fuerte avocado. It is pear-shaped with a thin bright green which does not peel easily. The fruit averages between 10 and 20 ounces and features a bright yellow flesh with a mildly flavor and a creamy consistency.

Carlsbad Avocado

Tree Size: 30-40 feet

Fruit Size: 10-18 ounces

Fruit Color: Black-purple   

Avocado Type: A

The Carlsbad avocado is said to be one of the Guatemalan varieties introduced from Mexico in 18^th century and is reportedly first fruited in the city of Carlsbad near San Diego, in California. Most Carlsbad avocado trees grow between 30-40 feet tall with a spreading canopy featuring uniform distribution of fruits. The tree is known to be a prolific and regular bearer.

The Carlsbad avocado fruit has a tapered oval shape with a somehow tough skin that turns black-purple color when ripe. The fruit is about 6 inches in length and weighs between 10 and 18 ounces. Its flesh is greenish-yellow in color with a buttery consistency and a nutty flavor.

Whitsell Avocado

Tree Size: 12-16 feet

Fruit Size: 4-5 ounces

Fruit Color: Dark-green    

Avocado Type: B

The Whitsell avocado is a hybrid variety bred and named after Robert Whitsell of the University of California in 1982. Whitsell tree is semi-dwarf in nature growing between 12 and 16 feet high with a rounded crown.

This avocado tree can successfully grow in containers and garden planters. The avocado fruit is pear-shaped with a thick easy to peel dark green skin. It greenish-yellow flesh has a creamy and buttery texture. The fruit is 4 inches in length and about 5 ounces in weight.

Bacon Avocado

Tree Size: 18-25 feet

Fruit Size: 8-15 ounces

Fruit Color: Dark-green   

Avocado Type: B

Bacon Avocado is a hybrid cultivar first bred in 1954, in California by a farmer named James Bacon. This avocado variety can now be found almost in very many places in United States, Canada, Asia, Africa and Central America. It is generally among the cold-hardy varieties of avocados.

A mature Bacon avocado tree grows to between 18 and 25 feet tall with sometimes open or rounded crown. It is a late producing variety but very prolific in nature, yielding large amounts of between 8- and 15-ounce fruit.

The fruit is oval-shaped with a smooth, dark green skin characterized by faint speckles throughout. The flesh is bright to pale yellow-green and at its center is a relatively small, almond-shaped seed that is covered in a paper-like sheath. The flesh features a subtle, nutty flavor and buttery consistency.

Criollo Avocado

Tree Size: 30-40 feet

Fruit Size: 6-10 ounces

Fruit Color: Dark-green   

Avocado Type: A

Criollo avocado is a native to Mexico and Central America and has been widely cultivated in United States and very many places around the world. The avocado has a pear shape, thin skin and a dark green color when ripe. The inner seed is relatively small, leaving an ample amount of dense and oily flesh which has a creamy texture and a nutty, earthy flavor.

The fruit is about 4 inches in length and weights between 6 and 10 ounces. The Criollo avocado tree is fast-growing, reaching between 30 and 40 feet tall and has great genetic variability due to open pollination.