TAXONOMY
The genus Mangifera belongs to the order Sapindales in the family Anacardiaceae which is a family of mainly tropical species with 73 genera (c. 850 species), with a few representatives in temperate regions. The other distant relatives of Mangifera are cashew (Anacardium occidentale), gandaria (Bouea gandaria), pistachio (Pistacia vera), marula (Sclerocarya birrea), ambarella (Spondias cytherea), yellow mombin (Spondias mombin), red mombin (Spondias purpurea), imbu (Spondias tuberosa), dragon plums (Dracontomelum spp.) kaffir plum (Harpepbyllum caffrum), etc.. Malesia has been considered as the phytogeographic region extending from the Malay peninsula south of the Kangar-Pattani line to the Bismarck archipelago east of New Guinea (Whitmore, 1975). Apart from edible fruit Anacardiaceous species also yield other valuable products like wood, gums and resins, wax and varnishes and tanning materials. It is also a family well known for the dermal irritation produced by some of its members, including some Mangifera spp. whose resinous sap may induce allergic reaction.
The Genus Mangifera L.
The genus Mangifera consists of 69 species and mostly restricted to tropical Asia. The highest diversity occurs in Malaysia, particularly in peninsular Malaya, Borneo and Sumatra representing heart of the distribution range of the genus. The natural occurrence of all the Mangifera species extends as far north as 27o latitude and as far east as the Caroline Islands (Bompard and Schnell, 1997). Wild mangoes occur in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sikkim, Thailand, Kampuchea, Vietnam, Laos, southern China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon and Caroline Islands. Maximum species diversity exists in western Malesia and about 28 species are found in this region.
Mangifera species are mostly distributed below 300 m but can occur at 600-1900 m above sea level. The species is found as scattered individuals in tropical lowland rain forests on well-drained soils. Most of the species (c. 44) are found on well drained soils, periodically flooded (9 spp.) and species like M. gedebe, M. griffithii and M. parvifolia occur in certain type of swamp forests. Mangifera bompardii, M. dongnaiensis and M. orophila are mainly found in sub-montane forests above 1000 m and occasionally up to 1500-1700 m above sea level whereas few species like M. caloneura, M. collina, M timorensis, M. zeylanica are acclimatize to seasonally dry climates in deciduous or semideciduous forests. M. sylvatica and wild M. indica can be found in Sikkim and southern China, at altitudes of 600-1900 m above sea level.