The Avocado Tree is not indigenous to South Africa (i.e. it is “exotic”) but, then again, neither is the popular “Jacaranda” tree!

The Jacaranda tree is made famous in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, with its pretty purple plumage. But, unlike the avocado, it can be very damaging to manmade structures (like roads, pipelines, houses and walls). And it has been discovered that it is also very damaging to the natural grasslands of the South African Highveld. The Jacaranda is a classic example of “cute from far but far from cute!”

The avocado tree on the other hand is a pleasant looking, ever-green tree that is unobtrusive and has a tap root system that does no damage. Its fruit has many uses both in savoury dishes and in dessert dishes. Even the avocado oil is now becoming a standard ingredient in the kitchen next to the olive oil (I think it was the famous chef, Jamie Oliver, that really helped put “avo oil” on the map).

I have up to now planted many hand-reared avocado trees in various places and have even given them as gifts to people for Christmas or Birthdays.

I did not plant the beautiful avocado tree in this photo but the story behind it nonetheless inspired me to take my love for avocados to a new level:

One day, while driving home from work, I noticed a pedestrian walking along the side of the road past this tree. He suddenly stopped, stooped down, and picked up a big healthy avocado berry from under this tree. I humbly recognised that this fruit would mean a healthy meal for this man – it is an excellent source of healthy vitamins and minerals and, contrary to some peoples’ belief, is not packed with fat and the fat that it does possess is the healthy sort. What if many of the wasteful and sometimes damaging trees were replaced with more fruitful, life-giving trees like the avocado?

Some excellent websites (as of 19 February 2009): http://www.avocado.org/; http://www.ucavo.ucr.edu