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From its ancestral home in Indo-Burma, the mango was spread into the Western Hemisphere by the Portuguese and Spanish during the period of exploration and discovery. It was brought into Florida over a century ago and, through intermittent periods of wax and wane, mango production has become concentrated on the crestal portions of a Pleistocene limestone surface in southeastern Dade County. The Pleistocene surface, however, is also highly valued for residential development, and the mango groves are gradually being converted to urban land use. Although the groves are being displaced, many trees are retained in the urban setting and continue to produce fruit for the commercial market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]