Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AV-I-GA'TO, or AV-O-CA'DO, n.

The Persea, or alligator-pear, a species ranked under the genus Laurus, a native of the West Indies. The tree has a straight stem, long oval-pointed leaves, and flowers of six petals disposed like a star, produced in clusters, on the extremities of the branches. The fruit is insipid. – Encyc. Miller. Avignon-berry, the fruit of Rhamnus Clusii, so called from the city, Avignon, in France. The berry is less than a pea, of a yellowish green color, and bitter astringent taste; used by dyers and painters for staining yellow. – Encyc.