• Mexican avocados are the smallest of the cultivated fruit.avocado image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com
  
  Avocados likely are native to Mexico, but thrive in any Mediterranean climate and so are cultivated in warm areas around the world. The largest avocados are grown in the West Indies and can reach weights of up to two pounds. In Guatemala, avocados are medium in size. The Mexican varieties, those most often found in American markets, are the smallest, with these varieties in particular weighing in at 3 to 7 oz.
  
  

Ganter

• This 5-1/2-oz. avocado is the oldest known variety in California, first identified in 1905 and now grown as far away as Israel. The fruit has 18 percent oil with a small to medium, loose seed, thin pale green skin and a good flavor. The tree is tall with a spreading habit and produces approximately 40 pounds of fruit per year. The California season is from October to December and the Israeli season is mid to late September.
  
  

Mexicola

• The Mexicola variety is exclusively grown in home gardens and produces 5-oz. fruit with a paper-thin, waxy, purplish-black skin and very large seed. The flesh is of highest quality. This cultivar is the hardiest variety of avocado known, with a high heat resistance, cold resistance to 20 degrees Fahrenheit and the fastest frost recovery time of any avocado. The trees bears fruit regularly from August to October.
  
  

Northrup

• The Northrup cultivar has one of the highest oil contents of the Mexican avocado varieties at approximately 26 percent oil. The fruit grow to be 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 oz. with a medium seed and quality flesh, though the flavor is not good when the avocado is overripe and the Northrup does not keep well. The nearly black-skinned fruit ripens in July to September in Florida and in October and November in California.
  
  

Duke

• The open, wind-resistant Duke tree produces avocados that are 5 1/2 to 7 oz. of good quality flesh with about 14 percent oil. The fruit is elongated with a green, waxy skin. The tree is very hardy, recovering quickly from freeze and being very resistant to root rot. The season for Duke in California is September to November. The tree is also grown successfully in Israel, producing fruit approximately late July to mid September.