Man′go, a fruit of the genus Mangifera,
which contains 27 species of tropical Asiatic
MANGO
trees. M. Indica
yields the common
mango and is
cultivated throughout
the tropics. The fruit is
kidney-shaped, four
or five inches
long, with smooth,
pale green to
reddish skin, and a
seed almost as
long as the fruit,
which has a rough
and fibrous shell.
There is a strong
suggestion of
turpentine about the
mango; usually a
taste for the fruit
has to be
cultivated. It has been
described as
tasting like a
“ball of cotton
soaked in turpentine and molasses.” In the
tropics the mango is a staple article of food
during the hot months, more than 130
varieties being cultivated in India alone. In
some of the poorer varieties the pulp is full
of fiber. The mango is extensively cultivated
in the West Indies and more sparsely
in southern Florida and California. The
tree is an evergreen, grows from 30 to 40 feet
high, and has a wealth of foliage.