In what year was the Hass avocado patented?

The Hass avocado was patented in 1935. Rudolph Hass, a California mail carrier and amateur horticulturist, planted seeds in La Habra Heights in 1926; one seedling resisted repeated attempts to graft it with Fuerte branches and developed into the distinctive Hass tree.

Hass patented the productive tree as U.S. Plant Patent No. 139 and arranged for Whittier nurseryman Harold Brokaw to propagate and sell grafted trees. Because avocados do not reliably reproduce the same cultivar from seed, commercial Hass trees descend from cuttings of that original mother tree.

The patent did not make Hass wealthy: growers widely propagated budwood, and he earned less than $5,000 in royalties during the patent's 17-year term. Even so, the variety eventually became the world's dominant commercial avocado because of its rich flavor, high oil content, heavy yields, darkening skin, and relatively long shelf life. The original mother tree died in 2002 after a long battle with root rot.