Today is: National Avocado Day

News-Messenger/News Journal
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Spring Green Avocado Salad is green enough for St. Patrick\'s Day or any day, with fresh color from avocados, lettuce, arugula, cucumber and green onions, among other ingredients. AP photo
Spring Green Avocado Salad is green enough for St. Patrick\'s Day or any day, with fresh color from avocados, lettuce, arugula, cucumber and green onions, among other ingredients. AP photo

Today we celebrate avocados. A fruit that grows on trees, avocados have a tough skin with a greenish or yellowish flesh inside, as well as a large seed. They can range in size from that of a hen's egg to up to about four pounds, depending on their variety. Some major varieties are Hass, Fuerte, Bacon, Zutano, Rincon, Mexican, Guatemalan, Booth 8, Booth 7, Lula, and Waldin. They are native to Mexico and to the area south of there down to the Andes Mountains.

For a long period of time, avocados were only eaten in Central and South America and in the Caribbean, where they gained the name "alligator pear." In 1833, horticulturist Henry Perrine became the first to plant avocados in Florida. They were first planted in California in the 1880s.

Source: Checkiday.com

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Today is: National Avocado Day