Mango
Mangifera indica L.
Mango (Mangifera indica) is a large evergreen fruit tree bearing sweet, aromatic drupes; it is grown throughout the tropics in thousands of cultivars, and its wood is also used for joinery.
No ratings yet — be the first!
Gallery
Mango — Seeds & young plantsMango — Whole tree
Mango — Fruit & seeds
Mango — Flowers
Mango — Leaves
Mango — Trunk & barkMango — Seeds & young plantsMango — Whole treeOverview
A tree 10–30 m tall with a dense, rounded crown and grey fissured bark. Leaves are alternate, lanceolate and 15–35 cm long, pinkish-red when young. Tiny yellowish-pink flowers form terminal panicles; the large drupe ripens from green to yellow-red with orange flesh and one flat stone.
Mango likes a hot climate with a marked dry season for flowering. The fruit is eaten fresh, juiced or dried, while unripe fruit is used in salads and preserves. The sap and fruit skin contain urushiol, which can cause skin allergy in sensitive people.
Life cycle
From seed to productSeed
Seeds from ripe fruit lose viability quickly; sown in moist bags, they sprout in 2–4 weeks.
Sapling
Light-loving saplings grow at a moderate pace; young leaves are pinkish before greening.
Flowering
Yellow-pink panicles open at the end of the dry season, pollinated by bees and flies.
Fruiting
Fruits swell through the rainy season and ripen yellow-red; grafted trees bear in 3–5 years.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- India34%
- Southeast Asia24%
- Vietnam14%
- China · East Asia12%
- Americas · Africa · Middle East16%
Chemical composition
Relative content in agarwood resin- Carotenoids (β-carotene, lutein)Orange colour, provitamin A32%
- Vitamin CAntioxidant22%
- MangiferinIn leaves and bark18%
- Sugars · fibre · othersSweetness, digestion28%
Uses
- Ripe fruit fresh, juiced, smoothies, dried
- Unripe fruit in salads, preserves and chutney
- Timber for joinery; young leaves souped in places
Properties
- Leaf
- Lanceolate, young ones pink
- Flower
- Tiny, yellow-pink, in panicles
- Fruit
- Large drupe, orange flesh
Habitat & conservation
Native to South and Southeast Asia; likes a hot tropical climate with a marked dry season for flowering and deep, well-drained soil, grown from lowlands to hillsides.
Conservation
Not globally threatened (IUCN: Least Concern). One of the most widely grown fruit trees in the world; supply comes mainly from cultivation.
References
- 1Plants of the World Online — Mangifera indica — Kew Science, 2024
- 2IUCN Red List — Mangifera indica — IUCN, 2019
- 3The Mango: Botany, Production and Uses — CABI, 2017
- 4Hình ảnh minh hoạ lấy từ Wikimedia Commons, tôn trọng giấy phép ghi kèm — Wikimedia Commons,
- 5Nguồn ảnh: EgorovaSvetlana (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 6Nguồn ảnh: Daderot (CC0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 7Nguồn ảnh: சு.பத்மா (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 8Nguồn ảnh: Billjones94 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 9Nguồn ảnh: Photo by David J. Stang (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 10Nguồn ảnh: Forest & Kim Starr (CC BY 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,