A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree Mangifera indica.

It
originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and
northeastern India.[1][2] M. indica has been cultivated in South and Southeast Asia since
ancient times resulting in two types of modern mango cultivars: the "Indian type" and
the "Southeast Asian type".[1][2] Other species in the genus Mangifera also produce edible
fruits that are also called "mangoes", the majority of which are found in
the Malesian ecoregion.[3]

Worldwide, there are several hundred cultivars of mango. Depending on the cultivar,
mango fruit varies in size, shape, sweetness, skin color, and flesh color, which may be
pale yellow, gold, green, or orange.[4] Mango is the national fruit of India, Pakistan and
the Philippines,[5][6] while the mango tree is the national tree of Bangladesh.[7]

Etymology
The English word mango (plural mangoes or mangos) originated in the 16th century
from the Portuguese word manga, from the Malay mangga, and ultimately from
the Tamil mā (மா, 'mango tree') + kāy (ங்காய், 'unripe fruit/vegetable')[8][9][10] or
the Malayalam māṅṅa (മാവ്, 'mango tree') + kāya (കായ, 'unripe fruit').[11] The scientific
name, Mangifera indica, refers to a plant bearing mangoes in India.[10]

Description
Mango trees grow to 30–40 metres (98–131 feet) tall, with a crown radius of 10–15 m
(33–49 ft). The trees are long-lived, as some specimens still fruit after 300 years. [12]

In deep soil, the taproot descends to a depth of 6 m (20 ft), with profuse, wide-spreading
feeder roots and anchor roots penetrating deeply into the soil.
[4]
The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, 15–35 centimetres (6–14 inches) long,
and 6–16 cm (2+1⁄2–6+1⁄2 in) broad; when the leaves are young they are orange-pink,
rapidly changing to a dark, glossy red, then dark green as they mature.[4] The flowers are
produced in terminal panicles 10–40 cm (4–15+1⁄2 in) long; each flower is small and
white with five petals 5–10 millimetres (3⁄16–3⁄8 in) long, with a mild, sweet fragrance.
[4]
Over 500 varieties of mangoes are known,[4] many of which ripen in summer, while
some give a double crop.[13] The fruit takes four to five months from flowering to ripening.
[4]

The ripe fruit varies according to cultivar in size, shape, color, sweetness, and eating
quality.[4] Depending on the cultivar, fruits are variously yellow, orange, red, or green.
[4]
The fruit has a single flat, oblong pit that can be fibrous or hairy on the surface and
does not separate easily from the pulp.[4] The fruits may be somewhat round, oval,
or kidney-shaped, ranging from 5–25 centimetres (2–10 in) in length and from 140
grams (5 oz) to 2 kilograms (5 lb) in weight per individual fruit.[4] The skin is leather-like,
waxy, smooth, and fragrant, with colors ranging from green to yellow, yellow-orange,
yellow-red, or blushed with various shades of red, purple, pink, or yellow when fully ripe.
[4]
Ripe intact mangoes give off a distinctive resinous, sweet smell.[4] Inside the pit 1–2 mm
(0.039–0.079 in) thick is a thin lining covering a single seed, 4–7 cm (1.6–2.8 in) long.
Mangoes have recalcitrant seeds which do not survive freezing and drying.[14] Mango
trees grow readily from seeds, with germination success highest when seeds are
obtained from mature fruits.[4]

Flowers and immature fruits on an 'Alphonso' tree

Unripe mangos in Rincón, Puerto Rico

The seed inside of a mango pit

A mango stone
Taxonomy
 'Carabao', a typical "Southeast Asian

type" polyembryonic mango cultivar 'Langra', a typical "Indian

From their center of origin, mangoes diverged into two genetically distinct populations:
the subtropical Indian group and the tropical Southeast Asian group. The Indian group is
characterized by having monoembryonic fruits, while polyembryonic fruits characterize
the Southeast Asian group.[1][2]

It was previously believed that mangoes originated from a single domestication event in
South Asia before being spread to Southeast Asia, but a 2019 study found no evidence
of a center of diversity in India. Instead, it identified a higher unique genetic diversity in
Southeast Asian cultivars than in Indian cultivars, indicating that mangoes may have
originally been domesticated first in Southeast Asia before being introduced to South
Asia. However, the authors also cautioned that the diversity in Southeast Asian
mangoes might be the result of other reasons (like interspecific hybridization with
other Mangifera species native to the Malesian ecoregion). Nevertheless, the existence
of two distinct genetic populations also identified by the study indicates that the
domestication of the mango is more complex than previously assumed and would at
least indicate multiple domestication events in Southeast Asia and South Asia.[1][2]

Cultivars
Main article: List of mango cultivars
There are hundreds of named mango cultivars. In mango orchards, several cultivars are
often grown to improve pollination. Many desired cultivars are monoembryonic and must
be propagated by grafting, or they do not breed true. A common monoembryonic
cultivar is 'Alphonso', an important export product, considered "the king of mangoes".[16]

Cultivars that excel in one climate may fail elsewhere. For example, Indian cultivars
such as 'Julie,' a prolific cultivar in Jamaica, require annual fungicide treatments to
escape the lethal fungal disease anthracnose in Florida. Asian mangoes are resistant to
anthracnose.[17]

The current world market is dominated by the cultivar 'Tommy Atkins', a seedling
of 'Haden' that first fruited in 1940 in southern Florida and was initially rejected
commercially by Florida researchers.[18] Growers and importers worldwide have
embraced the cultivar for its excellent productivity and disease resistance, shelf life,
transportability, size, and appealing color.[19] Although the Tommy Atkins cultivar is
commercially successful, other cultivars may be preferred by consumers for eating
pleasure, such as Alphonso.[16][19]

Generally, ripe mangoes have an orange-yellow or reddish peel and are juicy for eating,
while exported fruit are often picked while underripe with green peels. Although
producing ethylene while ripening, unripened exported mangoes do not have the same
juiciness or flavor as fresh fruit.

Distribution and habitat