Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to the South Asia from where it was distributed worldwide to become one of the most cultivated fruits in the tropics. While other Mangifera species (e.g. horse mango, M. foetida) are also grown on a more localized basis, Mangifera indica the 'common mango' or 'Indian mango' is the only mango tree commonly cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. It is the national fruit of India,[1] Philippines and Pakistan. In several cultures, its fruit and leaves are ritually used as floral decorations at weddings, public celebrations and religious ceremonies. The English word "mango" (plural "mangoes" or "mangos")[2] originated from the Tamil word ma?gai or mankay[3][4][5][6] or Malayalam maa[7][8] from the Dravidian root word for the same via Portuguese (also manga).[7][8] The word's first recorded attestation in a European language was a text by Ludovico di Varthema in Italian in 1510, as manga; the first recorded occurrences in languages such as French and post-classical Latin appear to be translations from this Italian text. The origin of the "-o" ending in English is unclear.[9] When mangoes were first imported to the American colonies in the 17th century, they had to be pickled due to lack of refrigeration. Other fruits were
lso pickled and came to be called "mangoes", especially bell peppers, and by the 18th century, the word "mango" became a verb meaning "to pickle". Mango trees (Mangifera indica L.) grow up to 3540 m (115130 ft) tall, with a crown radius of 10 m (33 ft). The trees are long-lived, as some specimens still fruit after 300 years. In deep soil, the taproot descends to a depth of 6 m (20 ft), with profuse, wide-spreading feeder roots; the tree also sends down many anchor roots, which penetrate several feet of soil. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, 1535 cm (5.914 in) long and 616 cm (2.46.3 in) broad; when the leaves are young they are orange-pink, rapidly changing to a dark, glossy red, then dark green as they mature. The flowers are produced in terminal panicles 1040 cm (3.916 in) long; each flower is small and white with five petals 510 mm (0.200.39 in) long, with a mild, sweet odor suggestive of lily of the valley. The fruit takes three to six months to ripen. The ripe fruit varies in size and color. Cultivars are variously yellow, orange, red or green, and carry a single flat, oblong pit that can be fibrous or hairy on the surface, and which does not separate easily from the pulp. Ripe, unpeeled mangoes give off a distinctive resinous, sweet smell. Inside the pit 12 mm (0.0390.079 in) thick is a thin lining covering a single seed, 47 mm (0.160.28 in) long. The seed contains the plant embryo.