PERSEA GRATISSIMA
\pˈɜːsiː ɡɹˈatɪsˌɪmə], \pˈɜːsiː ɡɹˈatɪsˌɪmə], \p_ˈɜː_s_iː ɡ_ɹ_ˈa_t_ɪ_s_ˌɪ_m_ə]\
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Laurus Persea, Palta tree, Avocado Pear. A slender, very high tree of Peru, with a small dome-like top, which grows on the eastern declivity of the Andes, and rises, at times, to the height of more than 60 feet. Its fruit-( S.) Palta- which is pear-shaped, is generally much liked. It dissolves, like butter, on the tongue, and hence is called, in some of the French colonies, beurre vegetale. The leaves are reckoned balsamic, pectoral and vulnerary. The seeds are very astringent.
By Robley Dunglison
Word of the day
Snake's-head
- Guinea-hen flower; -- so called in England because its spotted petals resemble the scales of a snake's head.