Mango Tree Symbolism Facts & Meaning: Zodiac, Superstitions, Dreams, and Myths
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Mango Tree Facts
The Mango Tree is an ancient tropical tree that bears one of the world’s most widely cultivated fruits. The delicious Mango fruit holds significant cultural and agricultural importance to the places that produce it. The Mango Tree’s scientific name is Mangifera Indica and it belongs to the cashew family of flowering plants, Anacardiaceae.
The Mango Tree is native to South and Southeast Asia, particularly Myanmar (Burma) and East India. Today, Mango Trees are cultivated in tropical climates all around the world. The tree grows fast and wide, reaching up to 100 feet in height with a canopy spanning 35 feet or more. These tropical plants hardly tolerate cooler weather and can die in temperatures below 30°F.
The oval leaves of the Mango Trees are leathery in texture and can reach 5 to 16 inches long. Both the leaves and sap of the Mango Tree can cause damage. The sap can irritate the skin and damage the Mango fruit because of the sap’s high acidity and the oily compound called urushiol. The leaves of the Mango Tree are toxic as cattle feed and can be toxic to human eyes and lungs when burned, but are otherwise harmless.
The tree’s tiny white flowers grow from panicles and possess a mild fragrance. The flowers are pollinated by insects including wasps, flies, bees, and ants. From the flowers, the Mango fruits grow. Only 1% of the flowers develop into sought-after Mangoes.
Due to thousands of years of cultivation and development in different locations, modern Mangoes come in many different sizes, shapes, colors, aromas, and flavors. Mangoes can grow into the shapes of kidneys, ovals, hearts, or spheres.
Mangoes are a dull green when unripe and transform to delectable colors of red-orange, and yellow when ripe. The delicious Mango fruit has a large flat seed surrounded by fleshy succulent meat just under its skin.
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Mango Tree Uses
The Mango is a highly sought-after tropical fruit for its delicious taste. As a fruit, Mangoes are versatile in their many uses. It can be used as a preserved delicacy, as salads, in desserts, and as drinks. It is also used as a snack and in savory dishes. Mango food products are popular in South Asia and Southeast Asian countries.
The Mango fruit alone has many health benefits. The fruit is high in iron, fiber, and vitamin C. Mangoes also contain zinc, vitamin B6, and folate. This helps to boost the immune system, fight anemia, and help with indigestion.
The different parts of the Mango Trees are also used for its health benefits. The bark of the tree is used to heal various skin and stomach problems like diarrhea. The gum of the tree is used to treat scabies and cracked feet.
When a Mango Tree is over its fruit-bearing days, the wood of the tree can be used for timber. Mango Trees are suitable for making furniture, plywood, and musical instruments like the ukulele.
Mango Trees are also great for the air. Studies have shown that Mango Trees are better at carbon sequestration (a process of taking carbon from the environment and converting it into oxygen) compared to other fruit-bearing trees like apples, figs, and citrus.
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Mango Tree History
Mangoes originated in India and Southeast Asia where the earliest fossil record of Mangoes is found in Damalgiri which is estimated to be 60 million years old. Hindu monks were documented in Hindu writings to be the first people to cultivate Mangoes as far back as 4,000 AD. Trade dispersed the Mango to other areas of the world starting in 300 AD from Asia to the Middle East, and East Africa.
The Portuguese were the first to introduce Mangoes to Western Europe during the spice trade after they landed in Kerala and it was the Spanish who introduced Mango seeds to South America and Mexico in the 1600s. It only reached the United States in 1796 via Florida.
Today, most of the tropical regions in the world produce some kind of Mango cultivar, producing millions of Mangoes worldwide.
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Mango Tree Positive Symbolism
The fruit-bearing Mango Tree is associated with plenty of positive symbolism. The Mango Tree signifies love, wealth, happiness, fertility, versatility, and immortality. These positive associations are brought on because of the Mango Tree’s valuable products for the people that cultivate the tree. The Mango fruit is often dubbed as “food for the gods.”
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Mango Tree Negative Symbolism
There seems to be no negative symbolism with the Mango Tree, making it one of the few trees to only be associated with positive things.
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Mango Tree Cultural Symbolism
In India, the leaves of the Mango Tree are incorporated in many ceremonies. Mango leaves are important symbols in wedding ceremonies to ensure the wedded couple is blessed with a fertile marriage.
The Mango Tree is revered throughout the span of Indian history and culture because of its religious and cultural significance.
The Mango fruit is the national fruit of India, Pakistan, and the Philippines while the Mango Tree is the national tree of Bangladesh.
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Mango Tree Zodiac Sign
The Mango Tree is greatly associated with the zodiac sign Virgo. Virgos and the Mango Tree are immense helpers to those around them. Although they can both display sweet and sour behavior, Virgos are rooted in their ways and are gentle and kind to those around them.
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Mango Tree in Dreams
Dreaming about a Mango Tree is often associated with relationships. When one dream of a Mango Tree, this can mean there is a blossoming of a new love. It can also mean facing a difficult situation in a mature way. Mango Trees in dreams are also associated with rebirth and regeneration.
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Mango Tree Omens and Superstitions
During many Hindu ceremonial celebrations, Mango leaves are used as decorations outside doorways to obtain blessings from the gods and for good luck. For wedding ceremonies, the hanging of Mango leaves is to ensure a fruitful marriage full of children.
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Mango Tree Mythology and Folklore
Mango Trees are sacred trees in many religions and cultures. Many believed that Mango Trees are the home of the gods.
In Hinduism, Ganesh, the elephant deity, is often depicted holding a ripe Mango in one hand. In Buddhism, Buddha is depicted many times to be meditating under Mango Trees, and there are many tales of Buddha materializing Mango Trees out of thin air.
In Jainism, the goddess Ambika, is depicted holding a bunch of Mangoes in her hands to symbolize her domain in fertility, wealth, and prosperity.
