The 'Ice Cream' mango is a semi-dwarf

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 S ...

that originated in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

and was later introduced to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

History

The Ice Cream cultivar was discovered in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

and

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

, and was later brought to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

by Maurice Kong of the Rare Fruit Council International and introduced via

. It is of unknown parentage. It became recognized for its semi-dwarf growth habit; trees can be maintained under 6.5 feet in height, and it has been promoted as a "condo mango" by Dr. Richard Campbell of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Because of its dwarf properties, Ice Cream is often grown in a pot. It has become a commonly sold nursery stock tree marketed to home growers in Florida. Ice Cream trees are now planted at 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 tropical fruit germplasm 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 ...

, as well as 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 ...

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 s ...

Description

Ice Cream fruit are very small in size, averaging only eight ounces (half a pound) at maturity. The fruit tend to be yellow-green, lacking any red blush. Ripe Ice Cream fruit are green. It is a flat oval shape with a bumpy surface. The flesh is fiberless, rich, sweet, and spicy, 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 Polyembryony is the phenomenon of two or more embryos developing from a single fertilized egg. Due to the embryos resulting ...

seed. The fruit ripens from June to July in Florida. Its spicy sweet taste has been likened to Mango Sorbet. The plant is disease- and pest-tolerant. The plant produces an average yield although trees are not very productive in Florida due to poor fungus resistance. Cross pollination can improve fruit production in Ice Cream. The trees are of low vigor and can be maintained at heights under 8 feet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ice Cream (Mango) Mango cultivars Flora of Florida Flora of Trinidad and Tobago