The avocao (Persea americana, also known as the avocado, butter or alligator pear) is a tree native to Mexico, Central and South America, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. The name "avocado" also refers to the fruit (technically a berry) of the tree that contains an egg-shaped pit. Avocado trees were cultivated in pre-Incan settlements with archeological evidence dating to 750 B.C.