THE MANGO 83 



The mango tree is evergreen. Seedlings on deep rich soils 

 often reach immense size. One measured in Bahia, Brazil, 

 had a spread of 125 feet and a trunk 25 feet in circumference. 

 Trees believed to be more than a hundred years old are common 

 in the Orient ; not a few such are to be seen in tropical America, 

 but the comparatively recent introduction of the mango into 

 this hemisphere makes old trees less common than in India. 

 Budded or grafted trees do not grow so large as do seedlings, 

 and are probably shorter lived. 



The crown is sometimes broad and round-topped; in other 

 instances it is oval, giving the tree an erect or even slender 

 form. The leaves are lanceolate, commonly to 12 inches in 

 length, rigid, deep green, almost glossy, borne upon slender 

 petioles 1 to 4 inches long. Growth is not continuous through- 

 out a long season, but takes place in frequently recurring periods, 

 each of which is followed by a period of inactivity. These 

 periods of growth (commonly termed "flushes" by horti- 

 culturists) do not occur at fixed intervals, and in fact the whole 

 tree does not always break out in new growth at the same time. 

 It is a common occurrence for one side of the tree to be in active 

 growth while the other side is dormant. The young leaves are 

 usually reddish or coppery, and often hang limply from the 

 ends of the branchlets. After the growth has begun to mature, 

 they become turgid and soon lose their reddish color. 



The small pinkish white flowers are borne in large panicles 

 at the ends of the branchlets. In Florida and the West Indies 

 the flowering season extends from December to April. Some- 

 times the trees bloom two or three times during the season. 

 More than 4000 flowers have been counted on a single panicle, 

 but not all of these are capable of developing into fruits, since 

 the mango is "polygamous," that is, it produces two kinds of 

 flowers: perfect ones having both stamens and pistils, and 

 others which are unisexual. The unisexual flowers, which 

 are staminate, commonly outnumber the perfect ones ; usually, 



