Aguacatillo (wild avocado)

Persea caerulea

The quetzal's favourite fruit; plant it and the birds will come.

Type: canopy tree · native and wild plants
Hardiness: zones 9 to 11
Light: full sun to part shade
Size: about 50 ft tall, 30 ft wide
Harvest: February to August
From: Central American cloud forests
Here: Too tender to overwinter outdoors on the Lake Erie shore (zone 6b to 7a): grow it in a pot and bring it in, or treat it as an annual.

Good for: food, wildlife.

Native to: Mexico, Central America & the Caribbean. Hardy in zones 9 to 11.

The story

Aguacatillo is the wild little avocado of the Central American cloud forests, whose small, dark fruit is the favourite food of the resplendent quetzal; Costa Rican conservationists plant it to bring quetzals back to farms in the highlands. The fruit is edible for people too.

Planting

Part shade or sun, rich, moist, drained soil, and a cool, frost-free mountain climate. Plant a seedling in the wet season; a forest tree to 60 feet.

Growing

Keep moist and mulched; it is a cloud-forest tree. No pruning needed.

Harvest and use

Small, black, olive-like fruit ripens in the dry season; it has thin, buttery flesh around a large pit. Leave most for the quetzals.

What to watch for

Heat and drought.

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More native and wild plants

General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home