The 'Van Dyke' mango is a named commercial

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 th ...

History

The original tree grew from a seed likely planted in the 1930s on the property of Mrs. Madeline Van Dyke in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. For decades the parentage of Van Dyke was unknown, though a 2005 pedigree analysis estimated that Haden was the likely parent. The tree began fruiting in the 1940s and was found to have enough potential to be propagated during the 1950s, and by 1955 the Flagg Brothers Nursery had sold several hundred trees. That same year Van Dyke was submitted to the Florida Mango Forum for evaluation. Van Dyke was recognized for its superior color and eating quality, and limited commercial plantings began in the 1960s and increased over the following two decades. Its commercial potential was considered limited in Florida due to the fruit's relatively small size and susceptibility to internal breakdown, but Van Dyke was later introduced to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

eastern Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

and found commercial success being exported to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Today, Van Dyke is still sold as a nurserystock tree for home growing in Florida, and is grown on a small commercial scale. Van Dyke trees are 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 Miami, the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center in

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. The population was 80,737 as of the 2020 census. Homestead is primarily a Miami sub ...

, 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 the heart of Redland, Florida, and is the only botanical garden of its kind in the United States. This park is operated b ...

, also in Homestead.

Description

The fruit is of oval shape with a rounded base and a bluntly pointed apex. Most will have a small lateral beak. They average under a pound at maturity, with smooth yellow skin color and bright red blush. The flesh is yellow with minimal fiber, and has a rich and sweet flavor and aroma. 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 typically ripen from June to July in Florida,http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg216 Table 1 and production is considered to be good. Van Dyke is moderately fungus resistant. The tree is a moderately vigorous grower with an open, spreading canopy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valencia Pride (Mango) Mango cultivars Agriculture in Florida

History

Description

See also

References