The leaves do most of the work
- Size — large, usually 10 to 30cm long, far bigger than most garden fruit tree leaves.
- Shape — oval to lance-shaped, widest around the middle, tapering to a pointed tip.
- Texture — thick, leathery and glossy on top, duller and paler underneath.
- Arrangement — alternate along the stem, never paired opposite each other.
- Edge — smooth, but often slightly wavy or rolled under.
- Smell — crushed leaves have a faint aniseed or liquorice scent.
New growth tells you the season
Fresh avocado growth comes out limp, soft and distinctly reddish or bronze. It hangs floppily from the tips of the branches for a week or two before hardening and turning green.
That flush of red new growth is a useful identification feature in its own right, and it is also a signal about the tree condition. A tree putting out strong red flushes is growing actively. A tree that has stopped flushing has usually stalled.
Bark, trunk and flowers
- Bark is grey-brown and shallowly ridged and furrowed, with a slightly corky feel on older trunks.
- Avocado bark is thin and easily damaged by sun and by whipper snippers, which is why mature trees often have patches of exposed trunk.
- Flowers are small, greenish-yellow and carried in dense clusters called panicles at the tips of the branches.
- The flowers are easy to miss because they match the foliage in colour.
- Avocado trees are unusual in having flowers that open female first and male later, which is why a single tree often sets very little fruit.
Telling the main varieties apart
| Variety | Shape | Skin | Colour when ripe | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hass | Small, pear-shaped | Rough, pebbled | Near-black | The dominant commercial variety worldwide |
| Fuerte | Elongated, bottle-shaped | Smooth, thin | Stays green | The classic smooth-skinned avocado |
| Reed | Round, almost spherical | Smooth, slightly thick | Stays green | Larger seed, buttery flesh |
| Shepard | Long and slender | Smooth, green | Stays green | An early-season variety, does not darken |
| Bacon | Medium, oval | Smooth, thin | Stays green | Cold-hardy, mild flavour |
| Pinkerton | Long with a narrow neck | Slightly rough | Stays green | Small seed, high flesh yield |
| Gwen | Small, oval | Slightly pebbled | Stays green | A Hass relative, thicker skin |
Leaves it could be confused with
| Tree | Leaf size | Leaf texture | Smell when crushed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avocado | 10-30cm | Thick, glossy, leathery | Faint aniseed |
| Bay laurel | 5-10cm | Thick, glossy, leathery | Strong bay aroma |
| Camphor laurel | 5-12cm | Glossy, three-veined | Strong camphor or menthol |
| Cinnamon | 10-20cm | Leathery, often reddish new growth | Strong cinnamon |
| Mango | 15-35cm | Leathery, long and narrow | Turpentine or resinous |
| Lilly pilly | 3-8cm | Glossy, smaller and denser | Mildly aromatic |
Why an avocado tree fruits one year and not the next
Avocado is notorious for irregular cropping, and most of it comes down to the flowers. Each flower opens as female on the first day and male on the second, and the timing differs between varieties.
That means a tree on its own often has very little overlap between the female and male phases, so pollination is poor. The usual fix is to plant a second variety whose flowering type complements the first, so the two trees cover each other gaps.
An avocado tree is easier to identify than most fruit trees, because its leaves are unlike almost anything else in a garden. They are large, thick, glossy and leathery, with a texture closer to a laurel than to a typical fruit tree leaf.
Once you can recognise the leaf, the next job is working out which variety you have. That comes down to the fruit, and the good news is that the main commercial varieties are genuinely distinguishable by shape and skin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Look at the leaves. They are large, 10-30cm, thick, glossy and leathery, with a paler underside, arranged alternately along the stem. Crushed leaves have a faint aniseed smell. New growth is soft and reddish-bronze.