History

Little is known about the history of the variety,other than that it originated in the Panama Canal Zone

Panama Canal Zone

The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...

 during the early 1900s. The fruit was named after the family of David Fairchild

David Fairchild

David Grandison Fairchild was an American botanist and plant explorer. Fairchild was responsible for the introduction of more than 200,000 exotic plants and varieties of established crops into the United States, including soybeans, pistachios, mangos, nectarines, dates, bamboos, and flowering...

, who had taken a liking to the variety. It was first brought to the United States through Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 in 1926, then introduced to Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 in 1936 by David Fairchild. While it grew in popularity in Hawaii, specimens in Florida collections were lost over time and it was not re-introduced to the state until 1992 by Carl Campbell, who brought Fairchild to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a botanic garden, with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees and vines. It is located in metropolitan Miami, just south of Coral Gables, Florida, United States, surrounded at the south and west by Matheson...

 in Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

 from Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

.

The characteristics of the 'Fairchild' mango suggest it is of Indo-Chinese origin, however the fruit contains a monoembryonic seed, which is unusual for mangoes from that line. This suggests that the Fairchild is possibly some sort of hybrid of Indo-Chinese and Indian cultivars.

Description

'Fairchild' is grown on a limited commercial basis in Hawaii and Panama, and has seen some commercial plantings in Florida as well. While the fruit lacks the color desired of some major commercial mango cultivars such as 'Tommy Atkins

Tommy Atkins (mango)

Tommy Atkins is the most important mango cultivar in global trade. Although generally not considered to be the best in terms of sweetness and flavor, it is valued for its very long shelf life and tolerance of handling and transportation with little or no bruising or degradation.This means it is the...

', it possesses qualities that give it potential for wider commercial adaptation. These include flavor, excellent production, and very good disease resistance.

Today 'Fairchild' trees are planted in the collections of the USDA's germplasm repository in Miami, and the Miami-Dade Fruit and Spice Park

Fruit and Spice Park

The Fruit and Spice Park is a botanical garden in metropolitan Miami at 24801 SW 187 Avenue, located in the rural agricultural community of the Redland, Florida, United States.-Exhibits:...

 in Homestead, Florida

Homestead, Florida

Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....

.

Fruit

The fruit is small, typically less than a pound in weight, with an oblong-ovoid shape and lacking any beak. The fruit ripens to yellow from green, and lacks any red blush. It has dark yellow and juicy flesh, which is fiberless and has a rich and aromatic flavor and contains a monoembryonic seed. It usually ripens from June to July in Florida.

Tree

While the tree tends to be a vigorous grower it can be maintained at under 8 feet in height, leading to its characterization as a 'condo mango'.