The 'Valencia Pride' mango is a named late-season
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
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 ...
.
History
The original tree was reportedly grown from a
Haden mango seed planted in 1937 on the property of Mrs. Charles Brown in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. The tree first fruited in 1941. A 2005 pedigree analysis estimated that Haden was indeed the parent of Valencia Pride. Valencia Pride fruit was submitted for evaluation by the Florida Mango Forum and propagation was begun by Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Zapiain of Miami.
Valencia Pride was recognized for its appearance, excellent production and eating qualities. Over the decades it was propagated throughout Florida both for home growing and commercial plantings. Today, Valencia Pride remains one of the more common nursery stock mangoes and is still grown on a limited commercial basis in Florida.
It has been selected as a "Curator's Choice" mango by the
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an botanic garden with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. It is located in the city of Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, just south of Miami, s ...
's International Mango Festival, most recently in 2009.
Valencia Pride 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 comme ...
's germplasm repository in Miami, Florida, 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 s ...
, 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.
Valencia Pride is also grown in the Coachella Desert in Mecca California.
Description
The fruit has a sigmoid shape that is long and slender, with a rounded base and rounded apex, and a large apical beak. It is quite large and averages well over a pound at maturity, sometimes reaching 2 pounds. The skin is yellow with much of it typically covered in brilliant crimson blush. The flesh is yellow, nearly fiberless, firm and juicy, with a 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 a ...
seed in an elongated husk. The fruit typically ripens from July to August in Florida,
[http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg216 Table 1] making it a late-season cultivar. Fruit production is consistent and good, with the fruit being moderately fungus resistant.
The trees are very vigorous growers and have a reputation as being among the fastest growing of the Florida mangoes. They are capable of growing in excess of 50 feet in height if left unpruned, with large, open, and spreading canopies.
See also
List of mango cultivars
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 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valencia Pride (Mango)
Mango cultivars