Sunday, July 10, 2022

Mango plant

Mangifera indica, commonly known as the mango tree, originates from India and has been used in ayurvedic medicine for over 4,000 years. Mango trees are typically grown from seed or from grafted nursery trees. It's also possible to grow them from cuttings. They are evergreen and generally produced off rootstocks that increase the hardiness of the plants. Mango trees begin fruit production in three years and form fruit quickly.

A mango tree can grow quite large, reaching a height of 100 feet or more with a canopy of 35 feet or more. The leaves are elliptic to lanceolate and spirally arranged on the branches. New leaves are a copper color and turn a shiny green once they mature. Some have both stamens and pistils, while others have stamens only.

The tree produces small white flowers that grow in flower clusters. Hundreds and even as many as 3,000 to 4,000 small, yellowish, or reddish flowers, 25% to 98% male, the rest hermaphroditic, are borne in profuse, showy, erect, pyramidal, branched clusters 2 1/2 to 15 1/2 in (6-40 cm) high.

The mango tree growing zone is limited to tropical climates. Extended exposure to temperatures below 30°F can kill or severely damage a mango tree, as mango tree cold tolerance is low. So, in the U.S. the mango tree growing zones are the southernmost portions of Florida and California plus Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Mango plant