Who knew: A single tree in India grows nearly 300 different types of mangos

In the north part of India, in an area filled with mango farms, there is a giant mango tree that currently is growing 300 different types of mangos. How did this happen?

First, mangos are a popular fruit in India. Mango season is looked forward to all year, and Indian mangos are recognized as being high quality with exceptionally sweet and smooth pulp (particularly the ever-popular Alphonso mango).

While mangos sold in the US are unlikely to come from India (although the trade did start in 2018, it is still a small percentage of imports), many other countries import Indian mangos as they are the most prolific producer. In fact, according to Wikipedia, in 2019 46% of worldwide mango production (oddly including mangosteens and guavas) was from India. Inda grows more than 1000 varieties of mango (I had no idea there even were that many).

So, we start with a culture that loves mangos and is now a major exporter. This makes the mango important. But how do you end up with a single tree growing 300 varieties? Well, it started with one man, Kaleem Ullah Khan, who is known as the “Mango Man” for obvious reasons. He even has his own Wikipedia page.

As a child of 15, Khan had seen a crossbred rose with multiple colors of rose on the same bush and was inspired to see if the same could be done with mango trees. He started grafting different varieties of mango to a local tree while still a teenager. He even started collecting rare grafting branches from around the country to add to the varieties of mangos growing locally. Later, he even started breeding new mango options.

So that’s how you end up with a single tree growing 300 different types of mango in India.