The 'Dot' mango is a
mango cultivar
The following is a list of some prominent mango cultivars. Worldwide, hundreds of mango cultivars are known.
Most commercial cultivars belong to ''Mangifera indica'', while a few commercial varieties grown in Southeast Asia belong to other ''Man ...
that originated in
South Florida
South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...
. The cultivar has limited to no commercial plantings but is sold as nursery stock for home use in Florida.
History
Dot was originally developed by nurseryman Laurence Zill of
Boynton Beach, Florida
Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is situated about north of Miami. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded a population of 80,380. Boynton Beach is located in the Mi ...
, and was named after his wife Dorothy. It was reportedly a seedling of the
Carrie mango, however a 2005 pedigree analysis by the USDA estimated it was a seedling of the
Zill
Zills, zils, or sagat, also known as finger cymbals, are small metallic cymbals used in belly dance, belly dancing and similar performances. They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells. In Western music, several pairs can be set in a frame to make ...
mango. Dot was propagated for several years by the Zill nursery but fell out of favor due to disease susceptibility and lack of ideal color. However, Frank Smathers of
Miami, Florida
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
received several cuttings of the Dot and took up propagating the tree, finding the eating quality of the fruit to be very high. The fruit began to be promoted as a popular dooryard cultivar beginning in 1992 at the
Fairchild Tropical Garden International Mango Festival, where it has become a featured cultivar several years.
Today, Dot is still sold as a dooryard tree in Florida. Dot trees are also planted in the collections of the
USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...
's germplasm repository in
Miami, Florida
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center in
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in the United States, U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and ...
, 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 Redland, Florida, and it is the only botanical garden of its kind in the United States. This park is operated by Miami-D ...
, also in Homestead.
Description
The fruit is oval to ovate in shape, with a pointed apex that has minimal to no beak. The fruit average slightly less than a pound at maturity, developing yellow skin often containing pinkish blush. The flesh is fiberless, juicy, aromatic and firm, with a flavor described as very rich and sweet. It 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 an ...
seed. The fruit matures from June to August in Florida,
[http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg216 Table 1] giving it an extended season. The fruit and flowers are susceptible to anthracnose fungus, which can limit production.
The trees are moderately vigorous growers that develop open canopies. The leaves are noted for often having a yellow appearance despite the trees being healthy.
See also
*
List of mango cultivars
The following is a list of some prominent mango cultivars. Worldwide, hundreds of mango cultivars are known.
Most commercial cultivars belong to ''Mangifera indica'', while a few commercial varieties grown in Southeast Asia belong to other ''Man ...
References
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20100617041846/http://www.fairchildgarden.org/livingcollections/tropicalfruitprogram/Fairchilds17thAnnualInternationalMangoFestival/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dot (Mango)
Mango cultivars
Flora of Florida
Agriculture in Florida