The 'Dot' mango is a
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 Sou ...
that originated in
South Florida
South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...
. 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, United States. It is situated about 57 miles north of Miami. The population was 68,217 at the 2010 census. In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 78,679 according to the University ...
, 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 or zils (from Turkish 'cymbals'), also called finger cymbals, are small metallic cymbals used in belly dancing and similar performances. They are called () in Egypt. They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells. In Western music, several ...
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 ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
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 the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
's germplasm repository in