The mysterious sex life of avocado trees

Let’s be frank: the confusion about avocado flowers and their pollination is well justified. Their reproductive habits are as mysterious and romantic as a magical realism novel, fascinating but sometimes hard to follow. It’s fitting because these trees originated in the warm, humid climes of Central and South America. As far as floral gender goes avocado flowers are classed as botanically ‘perfect’, that is, they have male and female parts in the one flower. The mysterious thing is that in its natural climate (South Central Mexico and the like) these parts are usually active at different times of the day, so the whole plant has a female phase and a male phase. This reduces the likelihood that one tree will pollinate itself, thus ensuring greater genetic seed diversity.

Avocado trees are usually classed as either A or B varieties. A varieties will open as female in the morning of the first day, and male in the afternoon of the second day. B varieties will open as female on the afternoon of the first day and male in the morning of the second day.