Etymology

'Mango' comes from Portuguese manga, which is probably from Malayalam manga. The origin of the -o ending is unclear. The first recorded attestation of the word in a European language is in the following passage (in Italian) referring to Kozhikode: "Se troua quiui anchora unaltro fructo che se chiama Amba, el pede suo se chiama Manga." Its first recorded occurrence in certain languages, for instance post-classical Latin (1511), and French (1540), (both as manga), appears to be in translations of this text. The relevant passage was not translated into English but may have had an indirect influence.

Description

The ripe fruit is variable in size and color, and may be yellow, orange, red or green when ripe, depending on the cultivar. When ripe, the unpeeled fruit gives off a distinctive resinous sweet smell. In its center is a single flat oblong seed that can be fibrous or hairy on the surface, depending on the cultivar. Inside the seed coat 1-2 mm thick is a thin lining covering a single embryo, 4-7 cm long, 3-4 cm wide, and 1 cm thick.

Mango fruits are often cut into a "hedgehog" style for eating (left). A cross section of a mango can be seen on the right

Cultivation and uses

Mango is now cultivated as a fruit tree in frost-free tropical and warmer subtropical climates like that of the Indian subcontinent; nearly half of the world's mangoes are cultivated in India alone.Jedele S, Hau AM, von Oppen M. An analysis of the world market for mangoes and its importance for developing countries. Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development, 20031India world's largest producer of mangoes, Rediff India Abroad, April 21, 2004

Other regions where mango is cultivated include North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, south, west and central Africa, Australia, China, Pakistan and Southeast Asia. It is easily cultivated yielding more than 1,000 cultivars, ranging from the "turpentine mango" (named for its strong taste of turpentine, which according to the Oxford Companion to Food some varieties actually contain) to the huevos de toro ("eggs of the bull", a euphemism for "bull's testicles", referring to the shape and size).