MangiferaIndica01

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Mango is a tall evergreen tropical tree growing up 30 - 100 feet with a dense, heavy crown.
The evergreen drooping leaves resemble those of the peach tree. Coppery to purplish-red at first but becoming green at maturity, they are lance-shaped and often slightly curved.
The male and hermaphroditic flowers of mango, small ivory and very numerous, and fruit clusters hang outside the foliage canopy.
Mango flowers are visited by flies, bats, bees, wasps, butterflies and other insects.
The mango tree is long-lived, some specimens are more than 250 years old and are still fruit bearing
Mango, in English and Spanish, or manja in Dutch has a great variety in species, forms, size, color, scent, taste and quality.
There are over 500 named varieties of the mango. The peach-like, juicy, flavorous fruit is known all over the world. Within each fruit there is a large flat elongated fibrous stone containing a single seed.

Main constituents include Citric acid and related compounds are responsible for the sour taste. Several terpenes (ocimene, myrcene, limonene), aldehyds and esters have been found in the dried unripe fruits. Furthermore, unripe mangos contain proteolytic enzymes.
In ripe mangos, volatile compounds (40 to 70 ppm) are ocimene, limonene, a-terpineol, 3-carene, ß-selinene and myrcene. The yellow colour is due to about 30 ppm ß-carotene.

Ripe Mangos are a popular fruit and may be used for stewed fruits, fruit jam, fruit cakes and many other standard fruit applications; they can, however, even used for savoury dishes. Indonesian fruit salad (rujak) combines fresh fruits (not too ripe mango, pineapple, papaya, in Jawa frequently cucumber) with a pungent sauce of palm sugar (won from coconut or other palm trees), fresh red chiles and salt; on Bali, a hint of shrimp paste (trassi, see also Indonesian bay-leaf on Balinese cookery) is never omitted.

The mango is the apple (or peach) of the tropics, and one of the most commonly eaten fruits in tropical countries around the world. The fruit is grown commercially on a small scale in Florida. In California a large planting in the Coachella Valley has now reached production stage. The quality of the fruit is generally comparable to Florida mangos, but has other advantages., i.e. the lack of fruit fly and seed weevil populations. Mexico, and to a lesser extent Central America, is a major supplier to U.S. markets today.

Mexicans sometimes use ripe mangos or other tropical fruits for their fiery salsas (see long coriander). Even if it is hard to believe, the extremely hot habanero chile goes very well with fruit aroma.

In Surinam's traditional medicine an infusion of the leaves or bark helps against hypertension and promotes a good blood circulation.