Mango

A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree Mangifera indica. It is believed to have originated in southern Asia, particularly in eastern India, Bangladesh, and the Andaman Islands. 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". 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. 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. Mango is the national fruit of India, Pakistan and the Philippines, while the mango tree is the national tree of Bangladesh. 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 man ("mango tree") + kay ("fruit"). The scientific name, Mangifera indica, refers to a plant bearing mangoes in India. Mango trees grow to tall, with a crown radius of . The trees are long-lived, as some specimens still fruit after 300 years. In deep soil, the taproot descends to a depth of , with profuse, wide-spreading feeder roots and anchor roots penetrating deeply into the soil. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, long, and 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 long; each flower is small and white with five petals long, with a mild, sweet fragrance. Over 500 varieties of mangoes are known, many of which ripen in summer, while some give a double crop. The fruit takes four to five months from flowering to ripening. The ripe fruit varies according to cultivar in size, shape, color, sweetness, and eating quality. Depending on the cultivar, fruits are variously yellow, orange, red, or green.