The 'Fairchild' mango is a commercially grown

mango cultivar The following is a list of some prominent mango cultivars. Worldwide, hundreds of mango cultivars are known, with over 1000 varieties in India. Most commercial cultivars belong to '' Mangifera indica'', while a few commercial varieties grown in S ...

originating in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. The 'Fairchild Emerald' mango is a named

that originated in

southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...

History

Little is known about the history of the variety, other than that it originated in the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the ter ...

during the early 1900s. The fruit was named after the family of Dr. David Fairchild, who had taken a liking to the variety. It was first brought to the United States through

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

in 1926, then introduced to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

in 1936 by Dr. David Fairchild. While it grew in popularity in Hawaii, specimens in Florida collections were lost over time and it was not re-introduced to the state until 1992 by Dr. Carl Campbell, who brought Fairchild to the

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an botanic garden with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. It is located in the city of Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, just south of Miami, s ...

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

from

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. The characteristics of the Fairchild mango suggest it is of Indo-Chinese origin, however the fruit contains a monoembryonic seed , which is unusual for mangoes from that line. This suggests that the Fairchild is possibly some sort of hybrid of Indo-Chinese and Indian cultivars.

Description

Fairchild is grown on a limited commercial basis in Hawaii and Panama, and has seen some commercial plantings in Florida as well. While the fruit lacks the color desired of some major commercial mango cultivars such as

Tommy Atkins Tommy Atkins (often just Tommy) is slang for a common soldier in the British Army. It was certainly well established during the nineteenth century, but is particularly associated with the First World War. It can be used as a term of reference ...

, it possesses qualities that give it potential for wider commercial adaptation. These include flavor, excellent production, and very good disease resistance. Today, Fairchild trees are planted in the collections of the USDA's germplasm repository in Miami, and the Miami-Dade

Fruit and Spice Park The Fruit & Spice Park, formally known as the Preston B. Bird/Mary Heinlein Fruit & Spice Park, is a 37-acre park located in the heart of Redland, Florida, and is the only botanical garden of its kind in the United States. This park is operated b ...

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. The population was 80,737 as of the 2020 census. Homestead is primarily a Miami s ...

Fruit

The fruit is small, typically less than a pound in weight, with an oblong-ovoid shape and lacking any beak. The fruit ripens to yellow from green, and lacks any red blush. It has dark yellow and juicy flesh, which is fiberless and has a rich and aromatic flavor and contains a

monoembryonic Monoembryony is the emergence of one and only one seedling from a seed. A seed giving two or more seedlings is polyembryonic. Some of the nuclear cells surrounding the embryo sac In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to a ...

seed. It usually ripens from June to July in Florida.

Tree

While the tree tends to be a vigorous grower it can be maintained at under 8 feet in height, leading to its characterization as a "condo mango".

Fairchild Emerald

Emerald was selected in Pine Island, Florida due to its excellent eating qualities and heavy production. It was named a Curator's Choice mango for the 2010 mango festival at

. The fruit is an emerald-green color at maturity, sometimes developing a crimson blush when exposed to sun, averaging less than a pound in weight. The flesh is orange, fiberless, and has a rich flavour.

References