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History tells us some very interesting facts about mangoes. Fossil evidence shows us where and how long ago the first mango was found and where it was first cultivated, while historical reports tell the story of how it spread to other parts of the world.

Where was the first mango found?

The history of mango began thousands of years ago on the Indian subcontinent where, according to legend, the Buddha was presented with a mango grove so he could rest in the shade. Legend aside, fossil evidence indicates that the mango made its first appearance 25 to 30 million years ago in northeast India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. In these areas mangoes have been grown for more than 4000 years and it was probably here, on the Indian subcontinent, that mangoes were first cultivated for domestic use.

How did mango spread to other countries?

According to historical reports, mango plants

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Often called pandanus palms, these plants are not closely related to palm trees. The species vary in size from small shrubs less than 1 m tall, to medium-sized trees 20 m tall, typically with a broad canopy, heavy fruit, and moderate growth rate. The trunk is stout, wide-branching, and ringed with many leaf scars. Mature plants can have branches. Depending on the species, the trunk can be smooth, rough, or warty. The roots form a pyramidal tract to hold the trunk. They commonly have many thick prop roots near the base, which provide support as the tree grows top-heavy with leaves, fruit, and branches. These roots are adventitious and often branched. The top of the plant has one or more crowns of strap-shaped leaves that may be spiny, varying between species from 30 cm to 2 m or longer, and from 1.5 cm up to

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Poplar

Large, stately trees which are widely used for street and avenue plantings, parks and garens, large properties, shelter belt planting and along driveways. Poplars are probably best known by the stately Lombary Poplar, widely planted in temperate Australia, however several styles of poplar are available including some newer introductions with improved form and functionality. Poplars are excellent for use in soil conservation areas for erosion control, are tolerant of air pollution and coastal areas and can be used in exposed sites.

Wild Sarsaparilla

Aralia nudicaulis is a 1-2 foot tall shrub common to the forest understories of southern New England. It produces tiny white flowers in spherical clusters beneath the compound leaves, which ripen into blue-black berries in mid-summer. The rhisome of wild sarsaparilla has a sweet, aromatic taste, and sometimes has substituted for sassafras in the making of home-made root beer.

Description source: Fleming’s Nurseries, Go Botany

Image

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The Apple

The wild apple or crab apple belongs to northern and central Europe, and from it have been derived the numerous varieties cultivated in many parts of the world. The apple is mentioned by the ancient Greek writers and in Pliny’s time was cultivated in abundance in the villages about Rome. The name pippin was so called on account of the plant having been raised from the “pips” or seeds and was taken to England from France during the reign of Henry the Eighth.
In Shakespeare’s time apples were esteemed as instanced in Justice Shallow’s invitation to Falstaff, “You shall see mine orchard where in an arbour we shall eat a last year’s pippin of my own graffing (grafting).” Again in the Merry Wives of Windsor, Sir Hugh Evans says, “I will make an end of my dinner – there’s pippins and cheese to come.”
Costard-monger (now

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Giant Trees In Australian Forests.

Australia lays claim to growing the tallest trees in the world, whilst Californian trees are noted not so much for height as for their girth and diameter. The tallest Californian forest giant discovered was found by actual measurement to be 340ft. high. But Australia’s record gum tree beats this by 140ft. Baron Mueller, who was formerly Government Botanist in Victoria said that the Australian gum trees attained a height of 500ft., but the tallest that the Baron every measured was a prostrate one on the Black Spur, ten miles from Healesville, which was 480ft. high. This tree was 81ft. in girth near its root. in 1889 Mr. G. W. Robinson, a civil engineer, of Berwick, in journeying from Gippsland to Mount Bore, measured a tree 471ft. in height, though the same tree had previously been estimated at not less than 500ft.
Remarkable

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