mel turner schreef
I'd hesitated at first because I'd vaguely remembered reading somewhere
that avocados actually varied as to whether there was an appreciable
development of a hard endocarp [possibly the same differences pointed
to above?], and thus would vary as to whether the fruit would be
classified as a drupe or as a 1-seeded berry. I then checked briefly,
and initially didn't find anyone calling the fruit a berry, but did
find several calling it a drupe:

http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/Wilson/pp/f97/fruits.htm or
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/Wilso...u98/fruits.htm

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This is not very convincing, as these don't meet what you yourself said
about berries and drupes. This actually goes a long way in supporting
Cereoid!
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http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/Wilso...g/laupage1.htm

The typical fruit type for the family - a drupe -

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This is a remarkable statement.
In his Flowering plants of the world, Heywood states that the fruit in
Lauraceae is a berry or drupaceous

Also note:
http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/an...w/lauracea.htm
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http://flora.huh.harvard.edu:8080/fl...taxon_id=10479

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dead
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http://pas.byu.edu/AgHrt100/avocado.htm
"The fruit is a drupe, having a stony endocarp."

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? ? ? This is a remarkable statement, maybe unique?
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http://www.cas.muohio.edu/~meicenrd/...logy/dln11.htm

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This site has interesting view of taxonomy:
" Artificial Group Floriferae Polypetalae Subclass Rosidae "
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http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/bot...y/Persea/index
..html
"This berry is truly unusual, not only because it is oily, not sweet,
but also because it never softens while still on the tree, where it
remains hard and continues to grow.

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What I think noteworthy is that the Lauraceae expert at the Missouri Bot
Garden is avoiding the use of terms like "berry" and "drupe" when describing

new species.
PvR