Petey is very excited about spring, but avocados are on his mind. Please stay out of the produce section Petey!
It is very exciting to think that avocados come from a plant native to the Americas. A wild native in the Laurel family, Lauraceae. A family that includes other interesting species like cinnamon, and bay laurel. And though we can’t grow an avocado tree (Persea americana), here in southeastern Arizona we can sure enjoy the pulpy fruit and spicy leaves of this very cool plant.
The genus is now Hesperocyparis, but back in the olden days I learned the rough bark Arizona cypress of southeastern Arizona as Cupressus arizonica...
I certainly opened a can of worms, at least for myself, when I started reading about Forestiera species. I had learned about F. neomexicana...
I had a chance to use the word didymus when describing the seed pods of Menodora, but forgot, so here: the common name twinberry...
