174 



Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



CLASSIFICATION 



Almost no attempt has ever been made to classify the immense number of 

 mango varieties, either by a natural or artificial system. The one obstacle which 

 has probably prevented this more than anything else is the extremely wide dis- 

 tribution of the fruit, making it an impossibility to gather all the varieties together 

 in one place for study and comparison. There seems to be ample basis for a 

 classification by natural characteristics, and if this could be done it would bring 

 out vividly the relationship between mam of the varieties, and establish the 

 synonymy of many which are now considered as distinct, or known under different 

 names in different countries. Few fruits are as widely grown as the mango, or 

 exhibit as many variations, and this will make the task of gathering together and 

 classifying the multitude of forms from all parts of the world a difficult one. 



Prof. Rolfs has classified the mangos now grown in Florida into a number 

 of distinct groups, based not only on a similarity of natural characteristics of cer- 

 tain fruits, but also on a similarity in growth and foliage of the trees. It is 

 stated that persons naturally inclined to horticultural work will come to recognize 

 these groups instinctively. 



This grouping is as follows: 



NO. 1 1 GROUP. Composed of a miscellaneous lot of seedlings distributed 

 most largely along the east coast from the lower end of India River southward. 

 The group, as far as Florida is concerned, originated in a shipment of about 1200 

 seeds of No. 11 sent [Rolfs, P. H., "The Mango in Florida" (Proc. Am. Pomo- 

 logical Society, 1911) J f rom Jamaica. The fruit weighs from three to twelve 

 ounces, varies in color from crimson red to light orange, is quite fibrous, in gen- 

 eral shape what has been called a modified kidney shape to almost round, and is 

 the first group to ripen. The group contains two varieties, No. 11, which in- 

 cludes an assemblage of seedling trees, which seem to come more or less true from 

 seed, and Roberts, a descendant from No. 1 1 which has been propagated by bud- 

 ding to some extent. , 



TURPENTINE GROUP. A miscellaneous lot of fruits, seeming to have 

 come to Florida from various parts of the Antillean region. It is of so inferior 

 grade that varieties have not been propagated. 



CAMBODIANA GROUP. Considered by some botanists to be a distinct 

 species from the other groups of India, and known under the name of Mangifera 

 Cambodiana. It seems to be most common in the Malayan Peninsula and the 

 Philippine Islands. In some instances the seed fails to develop and yet produces 

 a good fruit, that is, the group seems to produce strains which are tending to 

 become seedless. The characteristics of the group are a fruit of six to eight 

 ounces in weight, deep lemon yellow color, weak fiber, much elongated form, and 

 prominent stigmatic area. The varieties at present recognized are: Manila, an 

 assemblage of seedlings that is to eastern Mexico what No. 11 is to the east coast 

 of Florida ; Philippine, an assemblage of seedlings grown in Cuba ; Cambodiana, 

 grown from seeds imported by U. S. Department of Agriculture ; and Cecil, a very 

 handsome variety originated at Miami, Florida. 



