Keitt mango are classified asMangifera indica , a species within the Anacardiaceae family , which also includes cashews , pistachio , and poison sumac . The genusMangiferaencompasses around 35 - 40 species of tropic fruiting tree diagram , withM. indicabeing the primary cultivated species , boasting hundreds of cultivars worldwide . Keitt is a monoembryonic multifariousness , meaning its seed create a unmarried shoot , unlike polyembryonic types plebeian in Southeast Asia . Developed through selective breeding rather than occurring as a uncivilized mintage , it contemplate the extensive variety within this globally cherished fruit tree .
Keitt mango tree spring up in 1939 in Homestead , Florida , when Mrs. J.N. Keitt let on a bright seedling on her attribute . Believed to be a chance seedling of theMulgobamango — an Native American cultivar put in to Florida in the late 19th century — it was propagated in 1945 and named after its finder by the early 1950s . The Keitt class nurtured its development , and it gained excrescence in Florida ’s mango industry for its former - time of year ripen and shipping durability . By the seventies , it became a commercial staple in the U.S. , esteem for its size and extended harvest time windowpane . Today , Keitt is grow wide in Florida , California , Hawaii , Mexico , and parts of Australia and South Africa , valued for its dependability and market charm .
Keitt mango are notably large , often weigh 1 - 3 Sudanese pound , with an oval - to - oblong form that can reach 6 - 8 inch in length . Their thick , smooth skin remains predominantly green even when right , though it may develop a shadowy yellow or pinkish blush near the stem , making ripeness harder to guess by coloring material alone ( a slight give indicates readiness ) . The flesh is a deep orange tree - white-livered , business firm , and juicy , with minimal fibre — among the least fibrous of mango — beleaguer a exclusive , flat , monoembryonic seminal fluid . ripen from August to October in Florida , it ’s a recent - time of year cultivar , often the last mango glean . The gustation is fat and sweet-scented , with a mild tartness and a placid , creamy grain , offering subtle citrus and peach notes , though less redolent than some Indian varieties .
Mangifera indica‘Keitt ’ thrives in USDA zone 10 - 11 , excel in Robert Lee Frost - destitute , tropical to semitropic climates with temperatures ideally between 70 - 95 ° F ( 21 - 35 ° C ) . It can hold out brief dips to 30 ° F ( -1 ° C ) , but prolonged cold below this harms or shoot down the tree diagram , bound its U.S. grasp to southerly Florida , coastal California , Hawaii , and Puerto Rico . In zones 9b-10 , it can be mature with protection ( for example , greenhouses or frost cloths ) if started indoors and harbor from wintertime frisson , though fruiting may be inconsistent . It postulate full sun ( 6 - 8 hr day by day ) and well - enfeeble , sandlike loam soil ( pH 5.5 - 7.5 ) , performing best in humid region with 30 - 100 inches of annual rainfall or irrigation .
