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. Most commercial cultivars belong to ''Mangifera indica'', while a few commercial varieties grown in Southeast Asia belong to other ''Man ...

originating in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. 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 genera ...

History

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

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

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 ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in 1926, then introduced to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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 Arecaceae, palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. It is located in the city of Coral Gables, Florida, Coral Gables, Miami-D ...

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

from

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. 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.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 ...

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 ...

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 an ...

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