Golden Phoenix Mango

Golden Phoenix Mango

　　An evergreen large tree. Leaves cluster at the branch tips, leathery, oblong to long-lanceolate in shape. The terminal inflorescence bears small, pale yellow flowers that develop into drupes after blooming. The fruit is large, obliquely ovate, and turns yellow when ripe. It thrives in warm climates, is sensitive to cold and frost, and prefers full sunlight. It grows well at average temperatures of 20–30°C, but growth slows when temperatures drop below 18°C, and ceases below 10°C. The ideal annual rainfall range is 800–2500 mm. It is not demanding on soil types, but performs best in deep, well-drained, loose loamy or sandy loam soils with low groundwater levels, rich in organic matter. It also grows well in slightly acidic to neutral soils with a pH of 5.5–7.5.

Uses

Mangoes are highly nutritious. Eating mangoes can help prevent cancer, beautify the skin, and combat high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, and constipation, as well as cleanse the digestive tract. In addition to being eaten fresh, mangoes can be processed into juice, jam, candied fruit slices, preserves, salted snacks, and other food products. Furthermore, extracts from mango leaves have been found to inhibit pus-forming cocci, E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and also have antiviral effects against the influenza virus.

Mango is one of the most famous tropical fruits, also known as mangguo, mangguo, men guo, mi wang, wang guo, or anboluo guo. It is beloved for its delicate flesh and unique flavor, and is often hailed as the “King of Tropical Fruits.”

History of the Mango

The mango is a tropical evergreen large tree belonging to the genus Mangifera of the family Anacardiaceae, growing 9 to 27 meters tall. Its leaves are lanceolate, glossy, and dark green. The tree produces many small red or yellow flowers clustered in terminal panicles and can live for several hundred years. Native to India and Malaysia, India has the longest cultivation history and the highest production, accounting for 80% of the world's output. The name "mango" originates from the Tamil language of southern India. Wild mango fruits are inedible. Indians were the first to discover this tree, cultivate it into an edible fruit, and use it to provide shade from the tropical sun, a practice dating back over 4,000 years. Legend has it that a devout follower once offered his mango grove to the Buddha so he could rest in its shade. To this day, patterns of mango leaves, flowers, and fruits can be seen in Buddhist and Hindu temples across India. Hindus believe that the five petals of the mango blossom represent the five arrows of the god of love, Kama, and use the mango to worship the goddess Saraswati. Between 1556 and 1605, the Mughal emperor Akbar had an orchard of 100,000 mango trees near Delhi — an exceptionally large-scale mango plantation for its time. It is widely acknowledged that the first person to introduce the mango beyond India was the Chinese Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang, who recorded in *Great Tang Records of the Western Regions* that the “Anboluo fruit is treasured throughout the world.” From there, the fruit spread to Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, then to Mediterranean coastal nations, and did not reach Brazil, the West Indies, and Florida in the United States until the 18th century. Today, large mango plantations can be found in all these regions.

Many countries around the world have their own favored mango varieties. Thais often claim theirs are the best in the world, particularly a variety called “Brahmamia,” meaning “the Brahmin who sold his wife.” Legend says a mango-loving Brahmin was so fond of the fruit that he sold his wife to buy mangoes, hence the name. Indians prize Alphonso, Pairi, and Banganapalli mangoes. Sri Lankans favor the Willard and Gira mangoes. Filipinos admire the Carabao mango, which has been recently renamed the Manila Super Mango for commercial purposes. In China, key economic mango cultivation areas include Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Yunnan, and Taiwan. The largest cultivation is on Hainan Island in Hainan Province, distributed across areas like Lingshui, Baoting, Ledong, Dongfang, Changjiang, and Yazhou, yielding approximately 500 tons per year. Significant production also comes from cities like Nanning, Qinzhou, Baise, and Yulin in Guangxi; Xishuangbanna, Dehong, and Simao in Yunnan; and Anxi, Zhangzhou, Yunxiao, and Xiamen in Fujian.