Mango: Taxonomy
The mango, Mangifera indica L., is the most economically important fruit crop in the Anacardiaceae (cashew or poison ivy family).
Other important members of this family include cashew, pistachio and the mombins (spondias spp.).
The family contains 73 genera and about 600 to 700 species, distinguished by the bark and caustic oils in leaves, bark and fruits.
Several species, including mango, can cause some form of dermatitis in humans.
It is therefore ironic that two of the most delectable nuts and one of the world’s major fruit crops come from this family.
Mangifera contains about 30 species, although some authors put the numbers as high as 69.
Up to 15 other species produce edible fruit, including the water mango, M. laurina and M. sylvatica, the wild, forest mango from which M. indica is thought to have descended.
Mango: Taxonomy
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