''Mangifera zeylanica'', or Sri Lanka wild mango, is a wild species of mango relative

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. This stately tree is the tallest member of the mango genus, ''Mangifera'', and one of the two tallest trees in the family

Anacardiaceae The Anacardiaceae, commonly known as the cashew family or sumac family, are a family of flowering plants, including about 83 genera with about 860 known species. Members of the Anacardiaceae bear fruits that are drupes and in some cases produce ...

. The mango fruits are edible and have an excellent taste. It is called "aetamba" (ඇටඹ) or "wal amba" in Sinhala and “kaddu-ma” in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

. The well-known British botanist and explorer

Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For 20 years he served as director of the Ro ...

first described the tree in 1876. Udawattakele Forest f

Description

''Mangifera zeylanica'' is a large, slow growing, evergreen tree that can grow up to tall. The trunk is straight, up to in diameter, and is free of buttresses. Bark in older trees is rough, deeply fissured, with strips wide, and dark to light brown. The inner bark is orange brown. The wood is greyish white, soft, and coarsely grained. The dark green leaves are stiffly coriaceous, glabrous, and emit a mango aroma when damaged. The leaves are scattered, partly aggregating at the end of twigs. In shape they are spathulate or obovate-oblong or oblanceolate, up to wide and long, tapering towards the base, with a rounded apex in adult trees and with a pointed apex in saplings. The margins are slightly incurved and narrowly decurrent at the base along the petiole. The midrib is raised on both leaf surfaces. Lateral nerves 7 to 14 pairs. Petiole slender, long. Panicles glabrous, erect, up to long, terminal. Flowers whitish and cream yellow coloured, 5–merous, across, not glomerulate. Bracteoles lanceolate, minute, caducous. Pedicel slender, . Petals twice as long as sepals. Sepals 5, ovate, acute, . Petals 5, elliptic, 3.5 x 2 mm. Disc large, cushion-like, with 5 globose lobes. 1 fertile stamen (rarely 2), long. The ripe fruit is yellowish in colour and with a red flush. It has the shape of a mango, ovoid, slightly flattened, with a small beak, up to , and a thin skin. When ripe, which is when it falls of the tree, it is very juicy and fluid with soft, thin, fibres. The yellow pulp has a pleasant sweet taste, but is slightly acid when unripe. Hard endocarp with longitudinal veins, 5 x 2.5 by 3 x 12 cm.

Distribution

It mainly grows in forests of the intermediate and wet zones up to , but can also be found in the Dry Zone along waterways and in moist valley areas. It occurs at low population densities, scattered here and there in forests, and, like many native plants, is declining in unprotected areas.

Uses

The fruit is eaten by villagers. The soft wood has been used for making tea cases and the like. The tree is not cultivated, but could be used for crossing and improving mango varieties and as a rootstock.

References

* Kostermans, A.J.G.H.
The Mangoes: Their Botany, Nomenclature, Horticulture and Utilization
', Academic Press, 2012: 111–113. * Meijer, Willem. In eds. Dassanayake M.D. and Fosberg F.R. ''A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon'', Volume 4, New Delhi, 1983: 7. * Weerarathne, A.P.G. Samarajeewa, P.K. and Nilanthi, R.M.R. “Genetic Diversity of Etamba in Sri Lanka”, in ''Tropical Agricultural Research & Extension'' 8, 2005, Plant Genetic Resources Centre, Gannoruwa, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Accessed at http://www.agri.ruh.ac.lk/tare/pdf/V_8/AG.8.14.pdf on 7.11.2017. * Useful Tropical Plants. “Mangifera zeylanica”. Accessed at http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Mangifera+Zeylanica on 7.11.2017. {{Mangoes zeylanica Endemic flora of Sri Lanka Vulnerable flora of Asia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Plants described in 1876