Anacardiaceae
How to identify an Alphonso mango tree
Mangifera indica 'Alphonso' · also called Hapus (Marathi), mango
Widely regarded as India's premier export cultivar — rich, aromatic, sweet flesh. Notoriously alternate-bearing and handling-sensitive, which keeps it scarce and expensive outside South Asia.
Alphonso is a named cultivar of mango. A photo identifier names the species, Mangifera indica, not the cultivar: grafted cultivars of one species share the same leaves, bark and flowers. Telling Alphonso apart from other mango trees takes the fruit itself, the nursery label, or the grafting record.
Field marks
These features are typical of the genus Mangifera, so they help confirm you are looking at the right group; the fruit and the details below separate the species.
- Leaves are simple, leathery and lance-shaped, clustered toward the branch ends. New flushes are often bronze, red or purple before hardening to dark green.
- Crushed leaves smell resinous.
- Flowers come in large, upright, branched clusters (panicles) at the branch tips.
Check a photo
Photograph one whole, mature leaf from above, or a flower or fruit, and the identifier will return ranked matches. If Alphonso mango is the top result, the field marks above are your second opinion.
Leaves, flowers, fruit, or bark — closer and sharper identifies better. Your photo is identified and discarded, never stored.
Where and when you will find it
- Origin / cultivation history
- Western India (Ratnagiri-Devgad region, Maharashtra)
- USDA zones
- 10-11
- Climate
- Tropical to warm subtropical.
- Fruiting season
- April, May and June (typical, Northern Hemisphere)
- How often grown
- Rare in cultivation
Fruit is the most reliable way to confirm an identification, so April, May and June is the easiest window. Outside it, rely on the leaves and the overall habit. A tree growing well outside the climate above is more likely to be a look-alike.
Growing it: seedling or grafted?
A young tree with no fruit is harder to identify and easy to mislabel, so it helps to know how long it takes to reach fruiting age and how it is usually propagated.
- Years to first fruit
- Grafted 3-4 yrs
- Propagation
- Grafted only.
Other mango cultivars
Relatives in the Anacardiaceae family
Close relatives share many features, so these are the most likely mix-ups.
Map your Alphonso mango trees
CanopyTwin keeps every tree on a map with its species, cultivar, photos and history, and counts flowers and fruit from survey photos. It is built for orchards, nurseries and collectors of tropical and rare fruit.
More identification guides: free plant identifier · tropical fruit tree identifier · fruit tree identifier · all species guides