"The avocado has, since the time of Columbus, spread from its home in America entirely around the Tropics. That such an important food plant was confined to the American continent until the post-Columbian contact with the , while numerous other plants, such as the , , and , had already spread to parts of the Old World, was probably due to the fact that the avocado will not easily survive long voyages, while most of the tropical root crops have much greater vitality. The fruit spread but slowly before the last century, but in recent times its culture has rapidly increased, and it is now cultivated in most of the countries that are suited to its growth. It has been cultivated in India since about 1860, and has reached the islands of Madagascar, , , , , and Tahiti. In and Australia it is just gaining a foothold. Its cultivation is increasing in Algiers. In 1882 it was reported as growing in southern France along the shores of the Mediterranean. Some of the trees had flowered, but apparently none had fruited at that time. In southern Spain, however, the tree fruits, and is cultivated to a limited extent."